Football • Sports News

Leeds United vs Leicester City Player Ratings: Late Equaliser From Jamie Vardy Denies Leeds

April 25, 2023 11:09 pm
Leeds United vs Leicester City Player Ratings: Late Equaliser From Jamie Vardy Denies Leeds

  • Sinisterra gave Leeds an early lead before Jamie Vardy rescued a point for the Foxes.
  • Youri Tielemans had a wonder goal ruled out for offside late on.
  • A point apiece means both sides remain firmly in the battle to avoid the drop.

Leicester City Player Ratings: James Maddison returns and lights up Elland Road

Daniel Iversen 6/10 – Could have perhaps come out and claimed Jack Harrison’s cross for Leeds’ goal but made some good saves late on.

Timothy Castagne 7/10 – He scored the winner at the weekend and was solid defensively and offensively tonight.

Wout Faes 6/10 – Brought the ball out of the defence well but made a few rash challenges.

Caglar Soyuncu 7/10 – Looked good again and is clearly enjoying himself under interim boss, Dean Smith.

Victor Kristiansen 6/10 – Had problems against Jack Harrison all night but looks a tidy player going forward.

Youri Tielemans 8/10 – Had a wonder goal ruled out early on and was tireless in midfield. The notion that he is lazy is a myth.

Boubakary Soumare 8/10 – Was also very good on the night in midfield, both in terms of work ethic and keeping hold of the ball

James Maddison 9/10 – Comfortably the best player on the pitch. His first touch for the Leicester equaliser was a thing of beauty. Far too good a player to be relegated, surely?

Tete 6/10 – A largely ineffective performance from the Brazilian with the Foxes opting to play through the middle instead.

Harvey Barnes 5/10 – A really poor performance and lost his battle against Luke Ayling. Was no surprise when he was subbed off.

Kelechi Iheanacho 6/10 – Wasn’t great but did fantastically well for the equaliser when he somehow managed to get the ball through to Maddison despite being injured.

Substitutes

Jamie Vardy 8/10 – Scored the equaliser and had another goal ruled out for offside. Was a real menace from the minute he stepped on to the pitch.

Patson Daka 6/10 – Wasn’t much better than Barnes.

Dennis Praet 6/10 – Came on too late to make an impact.

Leeds United Player Ratings: Patrick Bamford rues big missed chance

Illan Meslier 7/10 – Played well after a number of howlers in recent weeks. Could do nothing about the Leicester goal.

Luke Ayling 8/10 – Arguably the home side’s best player. Kept Barnes and Daka quiet down Leeds’ right hand side all night.

Robin Koch – 6/10 – Looked rash at times and doesn’t fill you with much confidence.

Liam Cooper – 7/10 – Looks more assured that Koch at the back and dealt with crosses into the box well all night.

Junior Firpo – 5/10 – A problem in the Leeds defence and was beaten all night along.

Weston McKennie 6/10 – Lost out in midfield to Soumare and Tielemans and seems to be lacking a bit of quality on the ball.

Marc Roca 6/10 – Didn’t like being pressed by the Leicester midfield and lost the ball on countless occasions.

Jack Harrison 8/10 – Was the Whites’ best player on the night and was a constant threat all night. His ball for the opener was a peach and Leeds will glad they’ve recently tied him down to a new bumper contract.

Rodrigo 7/10 – He adds real quality to the Leeds front line and came close to scoring a couple of times.

Luis Sinisterra 7/10 – Great header at the back post to give Leeds an early lead but was sadly forced off not long after with an injury.

Patrick Bamford 6/10 – You can’t knock Bamford for his link-up play but he missed an absolute gift in the 90th minute to give Leeds an invaluable three points. Will they look back on that moment at the end of May?

Substitutes

Crysencio Summerville 6/10 – Worked hard but was missing a bit of quality in the final third.

Brandon Aaronson 6/10 – Came on late when Leicester were on top and failed to help his side wrestle back control of the game. Spurned a decent chance late on, too.

Leeds United vs Leicester City Match Summary and Highlights

Going into the game, neither side would have been happy with a point but by the end, they will both probably feel quite good about it. Leeds will just be relieved that Leicester’s late on slaught didn’t result in a winner while Leicester will be happy that their domination was at least rewarded with a point.

The home side took the lead after 20 minutes when a lofted ball from Jack Harrison was met at the back post by Luis Sinisterra. The former PSV man was forced off just ten minutes later and it seemed to indicate a shift in momentum in the game with Leicester dominating proceeding from then onwards.

However, they had to wait until the 80th minute to get their equaliser when Jamie Vardy superbly finished past Illan Meslier in the Leeds goal. While the finish was good, the combination play between Inehacho and Maddison in the build-up to it was the highlight.

Both sides had chances to win it late on with Jamie Vardy netting from an offside position and Patrick Bamford missing from six yards out. The point takes them both marginally further away from the drop zone but with Nottingham Forest, Everton, and Southampton all playing in the coming days they could find themselves dragged back in very quickly.

Player Of The Match: James Maddison

Maddison was missing with illness for the Foxes win against Wolves at the weekend and Dean Smith may have been tempted to continue with a winning side tonight. However, he elected to go with Maddison and the playmaker certainly didn’t let him down. He was two steps ahead of everyone else on the pitch throughout and he played a huge part in the Leicester equaliser. If Maddison continues playing like that, then Leicester should stay up.

Subscribe to Punditfeed on Google News for all the latest updates from the world of sports!