City Held By West Ham On Filbert Way
From the 2-0 defeat by Liverpool on Thursday, manager Brendan Rodgers made four changes to the XI. In came Ricardo Pereira for his first start since December, while Çağlar Söyüncü, Youri Tielemans and Harvey Barnes all returned. Papy Mendy, meanwhile, was named as a substitute after returning from Cameroon as an Africa Cup of Nations champion with Senegal.
Amidst a swirl of rain and wind, early stoppages saw Jarrod Bowen and Söyüncü pick up knocks, with both able to continue. On 10 minutes, it was Bowen who would open the scoring as he latched onto Issa Diop's long ball and slammed into the far corner first time.
On 22 minutes, after some good work from Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, his midfield colleague Tielemans lifted a lovely pass into the path of Patson Daka, whose first touch seemed to have set him up for a goalscoring opportunity, however Łukasz Fabiański raced off his line to collect.
City were forced into their first change on the half-our mark, when James Justin, operating at left-back, pulled up with what looked to be a muscular injury. On came Academy graduate Luke Thomas in his place.
With seven minutes of the first half remaining, good play between Dewsbury-Hall and James Maddison saw the latter carve out an opportunity for Tielemans, who blasted wide from a tight angle. Ricardo had a strike blocked and Barnes curled off target not long after as the hosts continued their quest for a leveller.
Then came a huge chance to do so, as Maddison's corner struck the arm of Aaron Cresswell in the Hammers box. Belgium star Tielemans stepped up and found the net from 12 yards, much to the delight of the Blue Army. Fabiański went the right way, but the No.8's power and precision prevailed.
Cresswell had a chance to make amends in first-half stoppage time, however his swept effort flew off target via the boot of Manuel Lanzini, and City headed into the break on level terms with their London opponents.
Just a minute into the second period, Maddison smashed over from around 12 yards. At the other end, Söyüncü got in the way of Bowen's strike as both outfits looked to take the lead at King Power Stadium.
A delightful pass from Tielemans then located Barnes, who darted into the box and played a pass across the face of goal. The outstretched Daka couldn't quite get there at the far post.
Midfield metronome Tielemans played another beautiful pass a minute later, and it led to City's second goal of the game. He again found Barnes, who clipped the ball into Ricardo and the Portugal international nodded in ahead of Diop. Advantage Leicester with just over 30 minutes to play.
With City now dominating proceedings, Tielemans sent an attempt over the bar and Dewsbury-Hall dragged off target. Then came the hosts' second substitution as Maddison made way for Ademola Lookman.
Still chasing a third goal of the encounter, it very nearly arrived on 78 minutes, however Barnes' scooped pass into Tielemans had too much on it, and there was Fabiański to collect.
Shortly after, substitute Saïd Benrahma half-volleyed wide for the Hammers, and then had a shot held by skipper Kasper Schmeichel as the clock ticked on in Leicester.
Lookman's quick feet caused problems for West Ham as the winger danced inside past Diop but could only drill wide with his left boot with three minutes of normal time to play.
A final change of the clash saw Tielemans' evening come to an end. Denmark centre-back Jannik Vestergaard was his replacement. But just as City looked on course for all three Premier League points, West Ham restored parity through Craig Dawson, who converted from a corner to make it 2-2 in stoppage time.
Major moment
Despite looking good value for a comeback victory, City were held to a draw after Craig Dawson netted a decisive leveller in the first minute of injury time.
Who impressed?
Speaking on LCFC Radio's Matchday Live, Matt Elliott said: "There were some quality moments form Youri Tielemans and Harvey Barnes. Harvey Barnes for 20 or 30 minutes was great, if he could do that for 70 or 80 minutes then we really are talking. James Maddison showed glimpses too. But the energy and commitment is boundless for a young player, and he drove the team on today. Gerry [Taggart] gave it to him on Thursday night and I'm going to give it him tonight too - Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall."
Where do we stand?
After matchday 22 in the Premier League, City are 11th in the table having collected 27 points in 2021/22.
Coming up...
Leicester will make their UEFA Europa Conference League bow on Thursday, when Randers visit Filbert Way (8pm kick-off). Then, the Foxes head to Molineux Stadium to face Wolverhampton Wanderers in the Premier League on Sunday (4:30pm kick-off).
The details...
All times GMT.