City 2 -2 Burnley
Report by Stuart Dawkins
It would have taken something very special for this game to live up to the expectations set by the last, unforgettable, home match against Manchester United. This game did not do so.
The positives are that City remain unbeaten at home, and that most fans would have settled for nine points from seven games when the season's fixture list was published. It was also good to see a full house for arguably one of the 'least attractive' home fixtures. The negatives are that games like this are the proverbial 'must win' fixtures if the Premier League ends up being as tight – at the top and the bottom – as it looks like it may be.
Pearson chose a speedy line-up with two 'proper' wingers – Schlupp and Mahrez. Ulloa and Vardy provided the attack – with no place for Nugent in the starting eleven. Drinkwater and Hammond formed the central midfield, and the back four were the usual suspects.
Burnley lined up in a similar 4-4-2, with a couple of big strikers.
Both defences were a little disjointed in the first 15 minutes, with attackers finding space at both ends, but few clear-cut chances. Mahrez's dribble through the centre and 20 yard shot, which forced a good save, was the most memorable opportunity. Schlupp wasted two difficult shooting chances in quite spectacular manner, once missing even the corner flag.
City looked quicker on the break and tidier in the pass, and slowly gained some grip on the game. After 34 minutes, patient passing on the right wing resulted in the ball breaking to Mahrez in the box; his cross along the 6-yard line was easily converted by Schlupp to make it 1-0.
Burnley kept to their game plan. Their forwards did not have City's pace, but they kept getting their fair share of the ball and in the 39th minute City let in the kind of goal they concede too often. With Morgan out of position after making a clearing header, Burnley floated a cross from the left to the far post, where it was headed across goal for Kightly to head into an empty net: 1-1.
Not for the first time this season, City scored within a minute of their opponents. An excellent passing combination between Schlupp and Vardy on the left produced a cross by Vardy which Mahrez headed in to an empty net from a tight angle: 2-1 to City, and – surely – now the home team's passing and quality would begin to tell? It didn't: City deserved their lead, but they did not really come close at any stage to building on it.
The second half started brightly, with strong runs from Mahrez and then de Laet threatening to pull the Burnley defence apart, but as the half progressed, it looked more and more as though Burnley were the most likely team to score.
The away side's dogged pressure meant that Leicester had numerous fast breaks from defence, and on normal form they would be expected to score from at least one of these. Instead, it was into the 80th minute before City registered a clear shot on goal in the second half.
By then, Nugent had replaced Ulloa – who generally held the ball up well but without any sight of goal. Mahrez – who had a lively and effective first half – was replaced by Knockaert, making his first appearance of the season, and James replaced the solid Hammond.
Of more significance were the Burnley substitutions: Sordell replaced the ineffectual Boyd in attack, and looked a real handful for the rest of the game, whilst Kightly was replaced by right-winger Wallace.
In the 82nd minute, Trippier was injured by the corner flag, eventually requiring a stretcher after a lengthy stoppage, and it was no surprise that the 4th official indicated that there would be seven minutes of added time at the end of the game. City continued to get breaks from defence, but in almost every case a poor choice of final pass or good covering, particularly by centre-back Duff, prevented chances being created.
With just two minutes to go, continued pressure from Burnley led to an excellent shooting chance, which was blocked. A Burnley player was clearly bundled over trying to reach the rebound, and the away side were given a free kick in a central position, 20 yards from goal. Substitute Wallace, whose good work on the wing had set up the original chance, shaped to curl the ball around the wall – and there was an air of inevitability when he succeeded in placing his shot well out of Schmeichel's reach and into the top corner of the net for an equalizer.
Even with only two minutes remaining, there still seemed a chance that Leicester could claim the three points. Schlupp ran strongly down the left wing to cross, but Knockaert's shot was well blocked and the final whistle went with the score remaining 2-2.
This was a game that City should have won, but a lack of quality in their forward play meant they did not. No-one had an outstandingly good game for City – although Morgan made a good number of crucial interventions, and Marhez looked lively and effective in the first half. Vardy's pace caused Burnley's defence problems, but had no real chances; Knockaert did not look at his best, and Nugent – who is usually a banker-bet to score against his old club Burnley – could not do so this time.
In the end it was Burnley's tenacity, and two good substitutions in Sordell and Wallace, that earned them a point and – in City's mind at least – cost Leicester two.
Leicester City: Schmeichel, de Laet, Morgan, Moore, Konchesky, Mahrez (Knockaert), Drinkwater, Hammond (James ), Schlupp, Vardy, Ulloa (Nugent)
Substitutes: James, King, Hamer, Knockaert, Wasilewski, Nugent, Wood
Burnley: Heaton, Trippier (Keane), Duff, Shackell, Mee, Kightly (Wallace), Arfield, Ward, Boyd (Sordell), Barnes, Jutkiewicz
Substitutes: Lafferty, Wallace, Sordell, Gilks, Keane, Long, Hewitt
Attendance 31,448
The views expressed in this report are the opinions of the Trust member nominated to file the report only and do not represent the views of the Foxes Trust organisation