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Harvey Barnes scored for the second straight game and Leicester was second in the Premier League with another late point after a 1-1 draw at Crystal Palace.
Leicester had done the same against Manchester United on Boxing Day, but their trip to Selhurst Park didn’t start too well after Vicente Guaita saved Kelechi Iheanacho’s penalty in the first half.
Palace experienced two confidence-sapping losses, against Liverpool and Aston Villa, over Christmas and came up short in attack in the first half. But they recovered after the break, scoring with their only shot on goal. Wilfried Zaha (58) started and finished a wonderful counterattack as Palace looked to stop its four-game winless streak.
But Leicester, which made a number of changes for the trip to south London, found its spark in a lackluster second half when Barnes (83) got into the top of the area before sending a low shot home to secure once. plus a late goal. point.
The result returns Leicester to second place ahead of the remaining matches of Matchday 16, three points behind Liverpool, while Palace moves up one place to 13th.
Leicester scores another late draw at Selhurst Park
Harvey Barnes scored late to secure a point for Leicester at Selhurst Park
There were half chances for both sides in the first 15 minutes. Zaha scored the goal, but Kasper Schmeichel stopped him before the offside flag was raised. Ayoze Perez could only nod wide from Luke Thomas’s deflected center, before Iheanacho saw his punch swing back into a corner.
Leicester received a penalty in the 18th minute after James Tomkins caught Thomas. With regular penalty shooters Jamie Vardy and Youri Tielemans on the bench, Iheanacho lined up, but a faltering run allowed Guaita to guess the right path, ultimately making a comfortable save from a weak spot.
Palace had his best chance of the half just before the 30 minute mark. Jeffrey Schlupp drove down the left wing before shoving the ball into the box for the waiting Townsend. However, Townsend was only able to direct his effort inches away from the target with his first touch. Soon after, Iheanacho approached again, but after detaching himself from his defenders, he was only able to send a deflected header from close range that bounced off his shoulder.
Crystal Palace started the second half well and after an earlier failure caused an outburst of frustration from Zaha, she redeemed herself with a wonderful first match just before time in her 200th Premier League start with the club.
He was at the heart of a counterattack, driving down the field before selecting Townsend, who then lifted a cross into the box. Zaha reached the back post to volley the ball past Schmeichel at the near post.
Seeking the tie, Leicester threw on Tielemans, Vardy and Demarai Gray, but it was the impressive Barnes who made the breakthrough in the 83rd minute. The ball broke towards the end, who danced his way over the top of the area before hitting. a low and strong shot to the corner for his eighth goal of the season.
Wilfried Zaha scored a superb goal to put Crystal Palace ahead
It was Leicester who pushed for the winner in the final agony. Striker Barnes twice sent the efforts off the arc with Gray also firing a free kick over the bar and Perez approaching point-blank range.
Man of the match – Harvey Barnes
Harvey Barnes celebrates his goal with Jonny Evans
It was another positive demonstration from the 23-year-old, who is growing in his role in the Leicester attack. He was one of only four players who stayed away from the game against United, in which he also scored.
Barnes had a whopping six shots, double the next highest contribution from Leicester. He also provided his teammates, making excellent straight runs and sending four crosses. Barnes also racked up the same number of interceptions, taking advantage of some loose passes from Palace at times.
Barnes has now scored eight goals in 21 games in all competitions this season, one more than he scored in 42 appearances for the Foxes last season.
Speaking at his post-match press conference, Brendan Rodgers said of Barnes: “His confidence at this level is improving all the time. Last year was his first full season in the Premier League so we are trying to bring him into areas for mark”. more goals and take that risk in the last third.
“He practices a lot, he’s working on his shots and shots all the time. His goal today was great … If you see the goal again, he has a lot of bodies around him, but the way he creates the space for the shot was fantastic. ” . I’m delighted for him, I’ve always said that he needs to improve his numbers and his assists and he’s doing it. Keep it up. “
What the managers said
Vicente Guaita saved a penalty from Kelechi Iheanacho in the first half
Crystal Palace Manager Roy hodgson He said: “I’m really delighted with the performance of the second half, which was back to the Crystal Palace that I was used to seeing and what I think we are capable of doing.”
“I was not happy with the first half at all and in half the time Ray Lewington was almost apoplectic in his criticism of what we were doing in that half. Luckily, it produced the required effect and we came out in the second half and did it a lot. best.
“As a result, one may feel that it’s a shame that we couldn’t hold on to it, but if you watch the game for 90 minutes, we had to save a penalty to stay 0-0 and they were so clearly better than us in the first half, I think I would have to say that I am satisfied with one point.
“Most important of all, I am glad I broke a very unpleasant sequence that has damaged our confidence and caused us a lot of pain.”
Leicester Manager Brendan rodgers He said: “We are disappointed with the result in terms of being in control of the first half. We had chances and if we can get the first goal then it can give us a good position in the game. I thought we deserved it in the first half, but you have what to risk.
“The second half, they started brilliantly in the first 20 minutes and we really didn’t get going. We gave away a goal, where we can do much better.
“But for the second time in three days, we have shown a great reaction. To fall behind in a game when it takes a lot of physicality to get back to it, I thought the players deserved a lot of credit. Helping us move forward, but I thought we had enough. opportunities and pressure to win the game.
“But like I’ve always said, if you can’t win it, don’t lose it and Harvey scores a great goal again. Hopefully it will be a valuable point for us at the end of the season.”
Opta statistics – days away from Leicester
- Crystal Palace have not won their last league game in any of the last nine calendar years (D7 L2), last winning against Millwall in the Championship in 2011 (1-0).
- Leicester City have lost just one of their eight Premier League away games in 2020-21 (6 wins and 1 draw), after losing five and drawing three of their last eight away games last season.
- Crystal Palace have kept just a clean sheet in their last 24 Premier League games, conceding in each of their last 15 in the competition since defeating Southampton 1-0 on opening day.
Whats Next?
Saturday, January 2 2:30 pm
Start 3:00 pm
Sunday January 3 2:00 pm
Start 2:15 pm
Crystal Palace will be next in action on Saturday when it hosts Sheffield United, live on Sky Sports; start 3pm. Leicester will also be live on Sky Sports on the weekend when they travel to Newcastle on Super Sunday; start 2.15 h.
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