Braga 3 – 3 Leicester

Jamie Vardy’s goal in the 95th minute earned Leicester a dramatic 3-3 draw in Braga, which was enough to secure their place in the Europa League round of 32.

It looked like the Foxes would have to wait to reserve their place in the round of 16 of the competition when Fransergio fired the Portuguese team ahead in the last minute of regulation time.

But Vardy met low center Marc Albrighton to equalize Leicester for the third time that night. Harvey Barnes (9) had previously canceled Al Musrati’s opener in the fourth minute before Paulinho regained Braga’s lead.

Luke Thomas ‘first senior goal appeared to have earned Brendan Rodgers’ team a point before the last minute drama unfolded at AXA Stadium.

The result means that Leicester leads Group G with 10 points, and cannot finish outside the top two after Zorya Luhansk’s 3-0 win at AEK Athens.

Foxes show they never give up

Leicester came to The Quarry having won all three previous group games, but Rodgers was right to warn his players of an injured animal.

Three weeks ago, Kelechi Iheanacho’s double and goals from Dennis Praet and James Maddison helped them beat Braga 4-0 at King Power Stadium, but the hosts were in front in four minutes.

Braga midfielder Andre Castro described it as “the most important game of the season”, and his quick start was rewarded when Al Musrati shot home his first goal for the club. James Justin and Thomas blocked two shots from Iuri Medeiros, but the ball fell kindly to the Libyan who found the bottom corner with his first shot from the edge of the area.

Leicester’s only previous away game against Portuguese rivals saw them lose 5-0 to Porto in the Champions League in December 2016, but they responded the other way around immediately.

Al Musrati’s loose pass to Iheanacho forced Castro to deflect his tackle only towards Barnes on the left side of Braga’s penalty area, and his shot into the top corner from an acute angle surprised Matheus Magalhaes.

But Leicester failed to generate any momentum after reestablishing parity and found themselves behind again in the first 26 minutes. It was a well-worked goal by Carlos Carvalhal, as Medeiros played a cute one-two with Ricardo Horta before Kasper Schmeichel was rounded off and Paulinho scored the center.

Cengiz Under was one of five players to enter Rodgers’ team, and was denied the opportunity to level before the break when pressure from Iheanacho forced Bruno Viana to pass the ball straight to the Turkish midfielder but his shot went straight to Matheus . .

In truth, Braga could have been further ahead before the break, as Schmeichel first kept Paulinho’s initial effort out and quickly got to his feet to quell Horta’s rebound, and the Leicester goalkeeper was in the right place to produce another. Paulinho’s stop reaction on the hit. Part time.

Rodgers called in Wesley Fofana and Youri Tielemans for the start of the second half, a sign of the importance placed on getting work done in Group G, but it wasn’t until Maddison and Vardy showed up at the time stamp. that Leicester began to put sustained pressure on the Braga defense.

Vardy issued a warning of what would happen when he ran to Tielemans’ long ball only to be flagged for offside before passing Matheus. It was a difficult decision. Maddison then hit a free kick from a decent position against the wall.

But Leicester was rewarded for their patience with a draw when Maddison picked up the game changer from Fofana and turned Ricardo Esgaio inside out before his low left-handed cross was directed home by the jubilant Thomas.

Fofana then got up to face a corner from Maddison, but was only able to turn when Leicester turned the screw, but, seeking a fourth consecutive victory in the competition, they were caught on the fast break in the final minute of regulation time.

Vardy opted to cross when he could have run the ball into the corner and after Galen picked up Matheus’s pass, he galloped away from Fofana and took Jonny Evans out with a delicate ball that was thrashed by substitute Fransergio.

It looked like Leicester would have to wait to secure their spot in the last 32, but Rodgers’ men rolled up their sleeves and showed their determination when Maddison found Albrighton in space to the right and his low center was turned into the far post by the predator. . Vardy.

The spirit of Leicester delights Rodgers

Leicester Chief Brendan rodgers: “The first half was too slow, too static, Braga was better than us. But the second half was outstanding. We changed the system and dictated the pace. Youri Tielemans and James Maddison in midfield were the real catalysts for that.” .

“This was a great opportunity to respond, we did. That’s the key. You never do it your way at the elite level, but we go back and show what we know we have.”

“We were satisfied with the quality and part of our game, and especially with our physique. We wanted European football, now we have to go and prepare for Fulham.”

Man of the Match – James Maddison

Leicester needed a spark after an hour, and Maddison duly delivered. Having been overlooked by Gareth Southgate on his last team, the 24-year-old proved that he is eager not to become the forgotten man of England’s talented generation.

He was instrumental in Leicester’s second draw. Speaking of Diego Maradona on the eve of the game, he said: “Growing up he was such an influential figure to watch, clips of him, especially in his prime.

“My dad is a graphic designer who is currently doing a piece, which is like a really great book, based on Diego Maradona. We have had a lot of conversations about him.”

Maddison played with a smile on his face and attracted three defenders from Braga in preparation for Vardy’s late draw. It was clear to see where he got his inspiration from.

Opt for statistics

• Sporting Braga have lost only one of their last 11 home matches in European competition (including qualifiers: 6 wins and 4 goals), scoring 24 goals in total.
• Leicester City have conceded three goals, more than three goals in consecutive competitive matches for the first time since December 2019 (against Man City and Liverpool).

• Luke Thomas (19 years, 169 days) became Leicester City’s youngest scorer in a major European competition.
• Harvey Barnes has scored in each of his two UEFA Europa League starts for Leicester City.

Whats Next?

Leicester host Fulham in the Premier League on Monday Night Football, live on Sky Sports; The start is at 5.30 pm. The Foxes return to Europa League action next Thursday when they travel to face Zorya Luhansk at 5:55 p.m.