City Suffer Palace Reverse On Filbert Way
Nearly two weeks after the Foxes’ last outing, Claude Puel made two changes to his starting XI as Christian Fuchs replaced the injured Ben Chilwell, while Jamie Vardy came in in place of Demarai Gray.
After a brilliantly observed minute’s applause to honour the late Gordon Banks OBE, Vardy came just inches away from opening the scoring after flicking Harvey Barnes’ cross over the crossbar on nine minutes.
City No.10 James Maddison then saw a strike blocked by Mamadou Sakho before forcing Eagles shot-stopper Vicente Guaita into a low save shortly after as the hosts stepped up their quest of a first goal of the evening.
The Spanish goalkeeper was on hand again on 19 minutes to deny Academy graduate Barnes from 25 yards out, while Wilfred Ndidi then failed to hit the target with a wayward effort.
The hosts had appeals for a penalty turned down as half-time approached after James Tomkins challenged Barnes in the box, before Michy Batshuayi turned James McArthur’s miscued effort past Kasper Schmeichel to put Palace in front.
After the break, former Austria skipper Fuchs flicked a header wide, Maddison had a free-kick blocked by the Palace wall and Barnes had a shot blocked by Tomkins as City went in search of an equaliser.
They finally found one on 64 minutes, with Barnes playing a major role in the goal. The 21-year-old’s effort fell to Northern Ireland international defender Jonny Evans, who on his 250th Premier League appearance scored a maiden goal for the Foxes.
However, Roy Hodgson’s men restored their lead six minutes later when Zaha ghosted into the area and converted at the back post, before Luka Milivojević made it 3-1 from the spot after Evans fouled former City man Jeffrey Schlupp in the area.
With the game stretched, Leicester pushed forward and while substitute Gray saw a strike deflect narrowly wide of the mark, the Eagles extended their advantage in injury time as Zaha grabbed his second of the game to seal the win.
Major moment
Despite impressing for the majority of the first period, City fell behind shortly before the break as Michy Batshuayi guided James McArthur’s strike into the back of the net.
However, the Foxes responded well after the break and restored parity as Jonny Evans hammered the ball past Vicente Guaita to make it 1-1.
But Leicester were level for just six minutes, as Palace struck with 20 minutes to play through Wilfried Zaha – a goal that ultimately set the hosts up for a victory.
Who impressed?
Experienced left-back Christian Fuchs offered Leicester City defensive cover and an attacking option against the Eagles, providing quality deliveries from the wing on multiple occasions.
Fuchs has now made seven appearances for the Foxes this season, scoring once, against Fleetwood Town in the Carabao Cup, back in August.
Where do we stand?
Following Saturday’s loss to the Eagles, City now sit 12th in the Premier League rankings – two points behind 10th-placed Bournemouth and two points above 13th-placed Crystal Palace.
Coming up…
City have the opportunity to bounce back on Tuesday evening when Brighton & Hove Albion visit King Power Stadium in the Premier League (7:45pm GMT kick-off).