Leicester City: 1 (David Nugent - 14')Burnley: 1 (Danny Ings - 47')
Leicester City were left to rue a string of missed chances as they were held to a 1-1 draw at home to Championship leaders Burnley. David Nugent scored his seventh penalty of the season to give City the lead in a first half that was dominated by the hosts. The league leaders came out much stronger in the second period and just two minutes after the restart they were level when Danny Ings slotted home after Kieran Trippier's cross. Both sides had chances to win it as Sam Vokes was denied by Kasper Schmeichel one-on-one while Jamie Vardy headed wide from close range. City continued to knock on the door in the closing stages but their problem was that, once it opened, they failed to step inside. Of their 19 shots on goal, crucially, only three of them were on target. Nigel Pearson made four changes to the side that was beaten convincingly at Brighton last weekend with Ritchie De Laet returning from a two-month absence at right-back instead of Marcin Wasilewski while Liam Moore was reinstated alongside captain Wes Morgan. Matty James and Anthony Knockaert came back into the starting line-up for Andy King and Dean Hammond as the City boss reverted back to playing 4-4-2. The difference was instant as City flew out of the traps. They looked a class apart, attacking at pace through Vardy, Lloyd Dyer and De Laet while Anthony Knockaert's creativity caused Burnley constant problems. It was unbelievable to think this was the same City that had been so poor against Sheffield Wednesday and in the first half at Brighton. The hosts took a deserved lead after 14 minutes when Vardy was bundled over in the box by former City loanee Ben Mee and referee Andy D'Urso pointed to the spot. Nugent stepped up and sent the keeper the wrong way as he slotted home for his 11th goal of the season in all competitions. Burnley, while outplayed for the majority of the first half, still showed signs of how dangerous they can be. They came close to leveling just before the half-hour mark when Ings's header hit the post. But the exhilarating City went into the break ahead with the only issue being that they were not already out of sight. And so it proved to be in the second half when City failed to clear Trippier's cross, letting it bounce in the box, and allowing Ings to fire home from the edge of the six-yard box. For all the momentum that Pearson's men had in the first half, it was definitely Burnley that had it in the second and they should really have gone ahead when a misplaced backpass from De Laet was intercepted by Vokes. The striker tried to slot the ball past Schmeichel but the Dane stood tall and beat the ball way with a strong left hand. It was then City who squandered the chance to win the game when Dyer got to the byline and pulled the ball back to Vardy and he somehow headed wide from five yards out. The hosts had the majority of the possession in the dying minutes but struggled to break down a hard-working Burnley side. On the balance of the whole game, a point was probably a fair result but City will probably be thinking they should have put it to bed sooner.
Leicester City: (4-4-2): Schmeichel, De Laet (Wasilewski - 70'), Konchesky, Morgan (c), Drinkwater, James, Vardy (Schlupp - 83'), Dyer, Moore, Knockaert, Nugent (Taylor-Fletcher - 69').Unused Subs: Hammond, King, Miquel, Logan. Bookings: De Laet Burnley: (4-4-2): Heaton, Trippier, Mee, Marney, Duff, Shackell, Arfield, Jones, Vokes, Ings, Kightly (Treacy - 72')Unused Subs: Lafferty, Stanislas, Cisak, Edgar, Stock, Long. Bookings: MarneyReferee: Andy D'Urso Attendance: 23,143
Leicester City were left to rue a string of missed chances as they were held to a 1-1 draw at home to Championship leaders Burnley. David Nugent scored his seventh penalty of the season to give City the lead in a first half that was dominated by the hosts. The league leaders came out much stronger in the second period and just two minutes after the restart they were level when Danny Ings slotted home after Kieran Trippier's cross. Both sides had chances to win it as Sam Vokes was denied by Kasper Schmeichel one-on-one while Jamie Vardy headed wide from close range. City continued to knock on the door in the closing stages but their problem was that, once it opened, they failed to step inside. Of their 19 shots on goal, crucially, only three of them were on target. Nigel Pearson made four changes to the side that was beaten convincingly at Brighton last weekend with Ritchie De Laet returning from a two-month absence at right-back instead of Marcin Wasilewski while Liam Moore was reinstated alongside captain Wes Morgan. Matty James and Anthony Knockaert came back into the starting line-up for Andy King and Dean Hammond as the City boss reverted back to playing 4-4-2. The difference was instant as City flew out of the traps. They looked a class apart, attacking at pace through Vardy, Lloyd Dyer and De Laet while Anthony Knockaert's creativity caused Burnley constant problems. It was unbelievable to think this was the same City that had been so poor against Sheffield Wednesday and in the first half at Brighton. The hosts took a deserved lead after 14 minutes when Vardy was bundled over in the box by former City loanee Ben Mee and referee Andy D'Urso pointed to the spot. Nugent stepped up and sent the keeper the wrong way as he slotted home for his 11th goal of the season in all competitions. Burnley, while outplayed for the majority of the first half, still showed signs of how dangerous they can be. They came close to leveling just before the half-hour mark when Ings's header hit the post. But the exhilarating City went into the break ahead with the only issue being that they were not already out of sight. And so it proved to be in the second half when City failed to clear Trippier's cross, letting it bounce in the box, and allowing Ings to fire home from the edge of the six-yard box. For all the momentum that Pearson's men had in the first half, it was definitely Burnley that had it in the second and they should really have gone ahead when a misplaced backpass from De Laet was intercepted by Vokes. The striker tried to slot the ball past Schmeichel but the Dane stood tall and beat the ball way with a strong left hand. It was then City who squandered the chance to win the game when Dyer got to the byline and pulled the ball back to Vardy and he somehow headed wide from five yards out. The hosts had the majority of the possession in the dying minutes but struggled to break down a hard-working Burnley side. On the balance of the whole game, a point was probably a fair result but City will probably be thinking they should have put it to bed sooner.
Leicester City: (4-4-2): Schmeichel, De Laet (Wasilewski - 70'), Konchesky, Morgan (c), Drinkwater, James, Vardy (Schlupp - 83'), Dyer, Moore, Knockaert, Nugent (Taylor-Fletcher - 69').Unused Subs: Hammond, King, Miquel, Logan. Bookings: De Laet Burnley: (4-4-2): Heaton, Trippier, Mee, Marney, Duff, Shackell, Arfield, Jones, Vokes, Ings, Kightly (Treacy - 72')Unused Subs: Lafferty, Stanislas, Cisak, Edgar, Stock, Long. Bookings: MarneyReferee: Andy D'Urso Attendance: 23,143
