That’s me done for the night. What a game. Thanks for all your emails and tweets. Until next time!
Read Ben Fisher’s match report
Updated
Daniel Iversen, Leicester’s keeper and probably the MOTM, calls it a “basketball game.”
“We are really disappointed. I think it’s one of the worst games we have played recently. We are losing too many balls. Now we have to move on and think about the Fulham game."
Jordan Pickford speaks:
We’ve created a lot of chances. Their keeper made some very good saves. I thought we were brilliant. But small details win games. I think I double-bluffed [Maddison for the penalty save]. Fighting spirit, I think we showed it out there. We could have got the three points, but we never.”
A moment for Seamus Coleman. We don’t know the extent of his injury, but it really didn’t look good. I sincerely hope that’s not the last we see of the 34-year-old in an Everton shirt.
We're all with you Seamus! 💙 pic.twitter.com/oo5mEM475x
— Everton (@Everton) May 1, 2023
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So, a point each for the relegation-threatened sides. Leicester’s draw takes them out of the bottom three, above Leeds and Forest – the latter dropping to 18th. Everton remain a point and a place behind, and have two dastardly games up next: Brighton (away) and Manchester City (home). Eeeeeesh.
This is squeaky bum time, Michael,” emails R. Harding, an Everton fan in Melbourne. “I don’t know if this baby is going to go back to sleep so I can read the updates in peace.”
I can never get mine to drift off, when my heart is going like the clappers. Which is quite often these days, with my beloved Blackburn Rovers putting me through the wringer.
| Pos | Team | P | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 16 | Leicester | 34 | -13 | 30 |
| 17 | Leeds | 34 | -24 | 30 |
| 18 | Nottm Forest | 34 | -32 | 30 |
| 19 | Everton | 34 | -25 | 29 |
| 20 | Southampton | 34 | -32 | 24 |
Full-time: Leicester 2-2 Everton
Both teams will rue their missed chances. Both teams will be thankful to their goalkeepers. A great game of footy.
Updated
90+3 min: A lot of tired bodies out there. The quality has dipped, but this has still been an enthralling match of Barclays.
90+1 min: Another booking, this time for Kristiansen, who has just come on. Everton pump a few crosses into the box, but Faes and Soyuncu head it away.
90 min: Four minutes added on here. Everton look the more likely to nick a winner.
89 min: Naughty challenge from Maddison, who brings Gueye down in midfield rather cynically. Deserved yellow, but also a good foul. Gueye was away there.
Two Leicester changes to tell you about. Praet on for Barnes, Kristiansen on for Thomas. Everton yet to make a change this second half.
87 min: Superb save again from Iversen, who is surely the man of the match tonight. This time the Danish keeper dives to his right, tipping a Doucoure shot behind. The Everton midfielder falls to the ground is disbelief, Doucoure can’t believe he hasn’t netted the winner.
85 min: Vardy looking jaded, and who can blame him. He’s made countless runs in behind Everton’s back four tonight, the latest of which he’s flagged offside for.
83 min: Seven minutes to go, and each side has just made one substitute each. In such an open game, fresh legs are desperately needed. Neither manager seems particularly confident in their bench. Everton’s only sub so far was enforced: Patterson for Coleman.
81 min: Tackles really flying in now. Iwobi wins the ball back, and then narrowly avoids a reducer from Ndidi.
77 min: Pickford comes charging out of his goal but a clumsy touch sees him lose the ball to Vardy, who shoots from 30 yards out, missing the target. Vardy is actually flagged for offside, earlier in the move, but Pickford didn’t know that. Lucky boy.
75 min: This is still a very open game. McNeil strides forward, crosses towards Calvert-Lewin, and only a fingertip from Iversen denies the striker. Next, Maddison finds Barnes, who has acres to break into on the left wing. The Leicester man cruises into the box, beats Patterson but fires high and wide. What a waste.
Updated
72 min: Good goalkeeping from Pickford, who comes off his line well to collect a searching Vardy cross towards Castagne. The Belgian would have tapped into an empty net had Pickford got that one wrong.
70 min: Everton’s issue (well, they have a few) is that they don’t have the personnel to change things. Only Demarai Gray and (maybe) Simms offer anything resembling a fresh attacking impetuous. For now, it seems, Dyche and co seem happy to hold onto the 2-2 draw.
68 min: Leicester pour forward. Maddison is seeing more and more of the ball. Suddenly, there only looks like one side that wants to win it.
65 min: Barnes-Varady-Daka. A lightning quick front three, and not the trio you want to see if you are Michael Keane or James Tarkowski. Mykolenko isn’t exactly Usain Bolt, either.
63 min: I genuinely have no idea which way this game is going to go.
61 min: It appears Leicester are going all out for the win. They make their first change. Defensive midfielder Ndidi off, striker Daka on.
59 min: Leicester come roaring back as they seek to re-establish their advantage. Maddison crosses deep to the back post, where Barnes shovels the ball back towards Vardy. The 36-year-old has a free header, six yards out, but can only power his effort straight at Tarkowski, who clears off the line with a vital defensive header. What a game this is.
57 min: Gueye picks up a yellow card to stop another dangerous Leicester counter-attack, with Maddison turning sharply inside his man.
Have to apologise, I’ve been a little lax on the reporting of other yellow cards. Both Leicester’s Thomas and Soumare have also been booked.
GOAL! Leicester 2-2 Everton (Iwobi 55)
The equaliser arrives! Just as in the first half, Everton have come out the stronger team here. It’s right out of the Dyche playbook. A hopeful cross towards Calvert-Lewin has the Leicester defence scrambling, and a hopeful header away falls kindly to Iwobi, who calmly sidefoots a volley past Iversen! Everton the first to the second ball, that is absolutely texbook Dyche.
Updated
53 min: Good save from Iversen, again! Calvert-Lewin steals a yard on Soyuncu and lashes a low shot at goal. It’s a narrow angle but Iversen still does mighty well to stick out a left foot to deflect it around.
Updated
51 min: Soyuncu has a nasty black eye on his left brow. That will smart in the morning. But he’s apparently OK to carry on.
During the break in play there we saw a replay of Pickford’s water bottle, which had very detailed notes on Leicester’s penalty takers, with percentage areas on how often each taker goes left/right/middle.
Jordan Pickford’s water bottle with James Maddison’s penalty placement on it… pic.twitter.com/s3dmIhZ88C
— Theo (@Thogden) May 1, 2023
Updated
47 min: Almost immediately we have a break in play with Soyuncu taking a blow on the head.
Peeeeep! We’re underway again in Leicester. No changes from either side.
Updated
“Quite possibly the last we see of Coleman on a pitch,” emails Carlos Praad. “That looked like it shattered his entire knee. Great player and leader. Him and Baines will forever be my favourite fullback pairing.”
One of the great signings in Premier League history. Just £60,000 from Sligo Rovers in 2009, Coleman nearly lost his career before he made an apperance for Everton, undergoing surgery on a career-threatening infected blister. Here’s hoping the veteran is OK here. It didn’t look good, I have to admit.
How many penalties must Maddison have taken against Pickford in England training, particularly at the World Cup. England must have practiced pens often, and perhaps Pickford got a read off the Leicester playmaker there. It was an ugly penalty, and the replays are not kind to Maddison, but the truth is that if Pickford dives, the ball goes in.
Stephen Carr (not that one, I think) sums up that first half nicely, via email.
“This like an under-9s game. It is almost completely without coherence.”
Half-time: Leicester 2-1 Everton
What a breathless half of association football. Both teams will be thinking of what could have been. It should be about 3-3.
Pickford saves Maddison's penalty!
45+7 min: A terrible spot kick, as Pickford guesses right, standing his ground. Maddison goes down the middle, and the Everton keeper is there to parry the ball clear! It remains 2-1!
Updated
Penalty to Leicester!
45+6 min: Barnes moves down the left wing, hurls a hopeful cross into the box, and the ball strikes Keane’s arm, which is away from his body. There is absolutely no intent there, but it’s a penalty if you adhere to the ludicrous laws of the game.
45+5 min: We’ll have plenty of stoppage time here, for Coleman’s injury.
45+3 min: Everton looks so, so exposed in transition. Tielemens gets clear on the right and flashes a dangerous cross across goal but Patterson is there to clear.
Updated
45 min: Looks like Coleman is not going to be able to continue. He’s down something rather nasty to his hamstring or knee and looks fairly distraught. The Everton man is going to have to be stretchered off, with Patterson to come on in his place. As Coleman is being carried off, he tries to whip the travelling support into a frenzy. Captain, leader, legend.
Updated
Vardy hits the bar!
44 min: What a game this is proving to be! Straight from the Calvert-Lewin miss, Leicester stream forward and Everton are caught cold once again. A lofted ball in behind sees Vardy clean through on goal, but the former England striker checks back, twice, before dinking a ball over Pickford and onto the top of the bar. Ahhhh, he should have scored. Everton should really be ahead but could easily have gone 3-1 down there.
Updated
Miss of the season contender from Calvert-Lewin!
43 min: Oh my days! What a ridiculous miss from Everton’s goalscorer. McNeil gets in down the left wing, plays a brilliant ball into ‘the corridor of uncertainty’ between Leicester’s last man and goalkeeper. Calvert-Lewin is there, three yards out, all he has to do it tap the ball into an empty net. But the striker makes a poor connection, does it come off his heel? The ball bobbles forward, off Iversen’s foot and away. Everton should be winning here.
Updated
41 min: Another great save from Iversen! A slick Everton move sees Coleman reach the byline. He cuts the ball back to McNeil on the six-yard box, who shoots with his right foot but can’t beat Iversen, who sticks a left arms out and parries it away!
Updated
38 min: Everton have been the better side in almost every metric. But they are so soft-centred without the ball.
36 min: Maddison’s pass for the goal is also worthy of another mention. Weighted to perfection – Vardy didn’t have to break stride. His first meaningful contribution to the match, and it was a goodie.
34 min: At 36 years of age, Vardy is still so quick. I have no idea how he does it. I’m no athlete, but aged 35, the only thing I can run these days is a bath.
GOAL! Leicester 2-1 Everton (Vardy 32)
A classic Vardy goal! Iwobi plays a sloppy pass in midfield, and Leicester pounce. Tielemens collects the ball, lays off to Maddison, who plays an inch-perfect through ball, dissecting Everton’s defence. Vardy sprints clear of Keane with ease, rounds Pickford and slots the ball into an empty net. The Foxes have turned the game around!
Updated
30 min: Barnes hasn’t had a run at Coleman yet. The Irishman has started the game well, but his lack of pace will be a concern for Everton as the game wears on.
26 min: Everton go on the offensive again, as Leicester settle into a rather low block. There’s little creativity from either side, but Everton are getting crosses in towards Calvert-Lewin, and committing numbers into the box for any second balls. It’s not the worst tactic.
24 min: How’s your luck, Everton? Just a woeful goal to concede after a brilliant opening 20 minutes. But that goal has got the home crowd going.
GOAL! Leicester 1-1 Everton (Soyuncu 22)
A goal out of absolutely nothing. Leicester have been so, so poor thus far, but from set-piece they win a couple of headers in Everton’s box, and the ball falls to Soyuncu, who slide tackles a shot at goal, with the ball squirming through a crowd and just beyond Pickford. The England keeper got a left hand to it, but the ball dribbled over the line.
Updated
20 min: Of the 17 games played by Leicester in 2023, they have conceded the first goal in 16 of them.
18 min: Leicester can’t get the ball. They are being utterly swamped by Everton’s five men in midfield. Ndidi and Soumaré far too sleepy on the ball. Iwobi nicks the ball off the latter and Everton earn another corner, from which Keane heads wide. The pressure is palpable.
GOAL! Leicester 0-1 Everton (Calvert-Lewin pen 16)
Iversen dives right, and Calvert-Lewin blasts his spot kick right down the middle. The striker’s first goal since October! Huge opener.
Updated
Penalty to Everton!
14 min: Coleman floats a hopeful ball towards the chest of Calvert-Lewin, who traps it beautifully, before he is clattered in the back by Castagne. That’s just far too clumsy, and Everton will have a golden chance to take the lead!
Updated
12 min: Maddison does get his first kick in: a tame shot at goal after good work from Vardy on the byline. Vardy seems to have got his mojo back, after his goal at Leeds.
10 min: It’s all Everton at the moment. They’ve come out like a train. I don’t think Maddison has had a kick yet.
We have reached the point of the season in which a draw for Everton is simply not good enough,” emails Matt Burtz. “It’s not strictly speaking a must-win, but one point doesn’t do them very much. I would rather they go for it and lose than play timidly for a draw.”
The visitors have certainly not been timid so far.
Updated
8 min: Brillant save from Iversen! Ooooo, this is a world-class save. Doucoure feeds Iwobi on the right, and the Nigerian international takes an early shot across goal, but the Leicester stopper flings out a right arm and tips it over the bar. That was headed into the top corner, and might have even got a deflection off a Leicester defender.
6 min: A couple of corners for Everton. Sean Dyche will no doubt be excited, as McNeil outswings one towards his old Burnley mate Tarkowski. Soyuncu heads away but if falls kindly to Gueye on the edge of the area … the former PSG man skies his shot over the bar from 20-ish yards out. A good chance!
Updated
4 min: Tielemens nutmegs Gueye in midfield and sends a wonderful diag to Barnes on the left wing. The ball bounces up towards Garner’s arm in the box, Leicester fans appeal for the penalty, but Michael Oliver is unmoved. The correct decision, Garner’s arm was down by his side.
2 min: Thomas off to a nervy start at left-back for Leicester. A tidy footballer, but not at James Justin’s level. How Leicester have missed the latter this season.
Peeeeeep! And we’re off. Leicester in their royal blue, Everton in their pink away kit, which is reminiscent of a Leicester away kit from a few seasons ago.
Here come the teams. They love a flag at the King Power, don’t they. I’m intrigued to see James Garner in midfield for Everton tonight, his first Premier League start. Haven’t seen much of him this season, just 12 appearances in all competitions although he’s had seen some more minutes recently. Was excellent for Forest last season.
Updated
Kasper Schmeichel: “I really miss playing at Leicester. Its an amazing place.”
He describes Daniel Iversen as “very competent”.
Everton playing with a five in midfield tonight – Iwobi, Garner, Gueye, Doucoure, McNeil – which feels like a defensive shape. Not a lot of matchwinners on the bench, perhaps with the exception of Demarai Gray. Nobody has fewer than Everton’s six league wins this season. I’m sure most in the away end would take a 0-0 draw tonight.
James Maddison is very good at football, and seems like a nice enough chap, but there is something about him that slightly irks me. I think it might be the shorts/socks combo. Not enough knee on show, for me.
Where would Leicester be with a proper goalkeeper? Certainly a few more points better off. Danny Ward put in a series of shocking displays when he was between the sticks earlier this season, although he was far from the only culprit at the back. Iversen has been a small improvement since coming into the side but this will surely be a position that the club will look to bolster in the summer, provided they do avoid the drop.
I mention this because Kasper Schmeichel is Sky’s guest on MNF tonight. What a brilliant player he was for Leicester, and what a surprise it was to see him leave last summer, even if he did swap the east Midlands for the French Riviera. He’s not doing a bad job as a pundit, by the way, as he gives some in-depth analysis to some of the weekend’s goalkeeping. A poor choice of trainers to go with his very sharp suit.
“They were so good that some of the glory hunters near me in Birmingham, opted for the leftfield choice of supporting them when ALL the others went for Liverpool,” writes Antony Train in response to Paulo Biriani’s email. “Needless to say, by the early 90s, the glory days of both started to fade and most had seen sense and started supporting their local team, Villa! But what a team. Kevin Sheedy and that left foot. And that le Coq kit with the white top half and blue bottom half: WOOF.”
If you’re wondering why Amadou Onana is not in the starting Everton line-up, Sean Dyche has revealed the Senegalese has been ill for the past couple of days, while Ben Godfrey, who is not in the squad, has a groin injury.
“I do remember just how incredible their team was in the 80s,” emails Paulo Biriani. “God, they were good. And I remember reading about Dixie Dean and his genius when I wad a kid. It seemed an immutable law that Everton were not allowed to be relegated.”
Too good to go down? Looking at both XIs tonight, you’d probably say that was the case. But performances on the pitch have been collectively awful, and they deserve to be where they are. It’s also a credit to the three promoted teams – Fulham, Bournemouth and Nottingham Forest. Two of the three are safe, and Forest have a great chance to stay up.
An enthralling Champions League semi-final second leg is also taking place at a sold-out Emirates. Join Sarah Rendell here.
The teams
Leicester: Iversen, Castagne, Faes, Soyuncu, Thomas, Soumare, Ndidi, Tielemans, Maddison, Barnes, Vardy.
Subs: Ward, Souttar, Kristiansen, Amartey, Daka, Dewsbury-Hall, Mendy, Praet, Tete.
Everton: Pickford, Coleman, Keane, Tarkowski, Mykolenko, Garner, Gueye, Doucoure, Iwobi, Calvert-Lewin, McNeil.
Subs: Patterson, Onana, Gray, Mina, Begovic, Maupay, Davies, Coady,
Simms.
Referee: Michael Oliver (Northumberland)
Preamble
What a gargantuan game this is, for two grand old clubs. Leicester and Everton start tonight’s match in the relegation zone, in 18th and 19th respectively, and this is the crucial game in hand. A win for either side would take them into 16th place, above Nottingham Forest and Leeds. Whatever happens, Forest will find themselves in the bottom three at the end of the evening.
| Pos | Team | P | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 16 | Leeds | 34 | -24 | 30 |
| 17 | Nottm Forest | 34 | -32 | 30 |
| 18 | Leicester | 33 | -13 | 29 |
| 19 | Everton | 33 | -25 | 28 |
| 20 | Southampton | 34 | -32 | 24 |
It will be interesting to see how each team approaches the game. If it’s important to win, it’s vital not to lose. Both Leicester and Everton have mixed run ins. After tonight, these are the remaining fixtures.
Leicester
Fulham (a)
Liverpool (h)
Newcastle (a)
West Ham (h)
Everton
Brighton (a)
Manchester City (h)
Wolves (a)
Bournemouth (h)
I’m genuinely not sure which is better from that lot, and it really puts into perspective what an opportunity it is tonight for three points. It is, most definitely, ON!
Kick off: 8pm BST.
