Foxes Frustrated As Cardiff Hit Late Winner
After back-to-back wins over Chelsea and Manchester City, Claude Puel’s men were aiming to make it three victories on the spin in England’s top flight for the first time this campaign.
With skipper Wes Morgan and defender Jonny Evans both sick, Puel handed Çağlar Söyüncü a spot in the starting XI, while Demarai Gray was also involved from the off.
The first period saw Bluebirds goalkeeper Neil Etheridge make five vital saves on Filbert Way, with his first coming on 15 minutes, as James Maddison produced a fine piece of skill to get past Harry Arter before seeing a low strike tipped behind.
Two stops in the space of three minutes from Etheridge followed, as he first denied Ricardo Pereira – scorer of a brilliant goal against Man City on Boxing Day – before palming Maddison’s 20-yard free-kick to safety.
A deflected Cardiff cross then saw the visiting side hit the top of the crossbar on 39 minutes, while Jamie Vardy and Gray both had strikes saved by Etheridge towards the end of the first half.
City continued to threaten after the interval, with Ricardo seeing another shot turned behind by the in-form Etheridge with 48 minutes on the clock.
Leicester ‘keeper Kasper Schmeichel had to make a save of his own at the other end, as he held onto winger Josh Murphy’s low effort with 66 minutes gone.
On 74 minutes, Puel’s outfit were awarded a penalty when Maddison was pulled back in the Cardiff box by Bluebirds captain Sean Morrison. However, the No.10 couldn’t beat Etheridge from 12 yards and was denied a follow-up effort by former Fox Sol Bamba.
Substitute Rachid Ghezzal was also denied by a Bamba block on 82 minutes, before the Algeria international attacker saw a volley deflect wide with three minutes to play.
But despite City’s dominance throughout the game, Cardiff struck in the second minute of injury time after Camarasa found the top corner from range.
Major moment
After 74 goalless minutes, it looked as if the deadlock would finally be broken when Sean Morrison was penalised for a foul on James Maddison in the Cardiff area.
But Philippines international goalkeeper Neil Etheridge, excellent throughout the 90 minutes, went the right way and Cardiff sealed the points in injury time through Victor Camarasa.
Who impressed?
Ricardo Pereira has gone from strength to strength for Leicester City this season, consistently providing an attacking threat from the right-hand side of the pitch.
Against Cardiff, as he had done three days earlier against Man City, the Portugal international was unfortunate not to find the back of the net after two good saves from Neil Etheridge.
Where do we stand?
The Foxes drop one position to eighth in the Premier League table after Wolverhampton Wanderers recorded an impressive 3-1 win over title-chasing Tottenham Hotspur at Wembley Stadium.
Coming up…
A trip to Goodison Park to face Everton in the Premier League is next for City on New Year’s Day (12:30pm GMT kick-off), before they face Newport County at Rodney Parade in the Emirates FA Cup Third Round on Sunday 6 January (4:30pm GMT kick-off).