Match report: Burnley 1-1 Leicester City
Jamie Jackson travelled out of his Mancunian comfort zone to visit Turf Moor and was treated to a surprisingly entertaining game.
Elsewhere in the Premier League: Bottom side Sheffield United did well to hold on for the win against Aston Villa despite losing Phil Jagielka to a straight red card after 57 minutes. David McGoldrick got the only of the game and while the win is welcome for the Blades, they remain anchored to the bottom of the table and look doomed.
Kasper Schmeichel speaks: “We knew what we would come up against with Burnley, a lot of physicality and a lot of balls into the box,” says Leicester’s goalkeeper. “We responded well and we probably come away with a slight disappointment. It was a very level game but we are disappointed in the way we started the game. We responded well, it could have gone both ways.”
How things stand: Leicester remain in third place, level on points with Manchester United, who have a game in hand against Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park that kicks off shortly. Burnley are in 15th place, a point behind Southampton and with a six point cushion between them and the thick black line.
Match recap: Matej Vydra pounced on a Hamza Choudhary error to rifle Burnley into an early lead, but his goal was cancelled out by a sublime strike on the volley from Leicester City. Both teams had chances to win it, with Burnley enjoying the pick of them. Kasper Schmeichel will haunt Chris Wood’s dreams tonight, having pulled off several splendid saves to deny the big Kiwi.
Leicester went close to a smash-and-grab late doors when a Youri Tielemans drive was deflected on to the upright. It would have been crushingly unfair on the hosts to lose that late in proceedings following an often fine performance.
Full-time: Burnley 1-1 Leicester City
Peep! Peep! Peeeeeeep! It has finished all square at Turf Moor, where a draw was probably a completely fair result.
90+1 min: Ricardo gets booked for a foul on Westwood jusat outside the Leicester City penalty area and stomps up the field, shouting and gesticulating at the injustice of it all.
89 min: Jamie Vardy has been kept on a tight rein tonight but he finally gets a sight of goal. It’s not unimpaired because there’s traffic in the way and his shot from a tight angle is blocked by Ben Mee.
88 min: If either team were to conede a late winner, one suspects their manager would be very, very aggrieved. Both teams have been outstanding at times, in a match full of ebb and flow. A draw is probably a fair result and a point isn’t a bad haul but I think Burnley will feel slightly more aggrieved.
86 min: Schmeichel is forced to tip a dropping ball over his own cross-bar for a corner. The ball’s swung in but Leicester clear. It’s swung in again ... and Leicester clear with Tavares giving them some breathing space with a canter up the left touchline, where he is fouled.
84 min: Close! Youri Tielemans shoots from outside the penalty area and his low drive takes a wicked deflection off Jack Cork before thumping the foot of the post. A let-off for Burnley, but Leicester have enjoyed more than their fair share of luck so far too.
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83 min: Tavares concedes a free-kick wide on the right for a foul on Tarkowski. The ball is curled towards the far post, where Schmeichel leaps to claim it, doesn’t hold on to it but does just enough to keep it away from anyone in a Burnley shirt.
81 min: Into the final 10 minutes we go, with the three points very much up for grabs. Both sides have had periods of domination, while Kasper Schmeichel has performed heroics to get the better of Chris Wood. Burnley have probably been the better side overall but Leicvester CVity look marginally more likely to nick the win at the moment.
80 min: Josh Brownhill takes charge, but shoots his free-kick high over the bar.
79 min: Matej Vydra is hauled to the ground by Fofana just outside the Leicester penalty area as the pair contested a dropping ball. Yellow card. It’s in a great position for Burnley, just to the left of the D.
77 min: Leicester substitution: Portuguese midfielder Sidnei Tavares on for his Premier League debut, Hamza Choudhury off.
76 min: Having been dominated throughout the second half, Leicester City are back in the ascendency, as Burnley struggle to get to grips with their change in formation and fresh legs.
74 min: Albrighton and Tielemans link up down the left before the substitute picks out Castagne in the Burnley penalty area. His traps the ball stone dead and has room to shoot, but dawdles and his effort is blocked.
73 min: Youri Tielemans plays a neat one-two with with Castagne on the edge of the Burnley penalty area but is unable to get off a shot from a tight angle.
70 min: Ricardo Pereira picks up a pass on the edge of the Burnley penalty area and his shot towards goal is sent looping over the bar after taking a deflection off Charlie Taylor.
67 min: Leicester double-substitution: Marc Albrighton and Wesley Fofana on, Kelechi Iheanacho and Papy Mendy off. There’s a reshuffle, as Leicester switch to a back four and Wilfried Ndidy moves back into midfield.
64 min: The loud thunk of ball on woodwork echoes around Turf Moore as Ashley Westwood rifles a low volley from distance off the foot of the post after teeing himself up outside the penalty area.
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62 min: Chris Wood advances from the centre-circle with the ball at his feet and tries to play Vydra in behind. Offside and the Czech knew he was offside and ewas gesticulating at his fellow striker accordingly, telling him not to play the pass.
58 min: Sean Dyche is shouting at his players from his technical area, but his instructions are not being picked up by the pitchside microphone. A cynic might say he got somebody to switch it off, but you won’t get any spurious and outlandish allegations like that here.
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57 min: Papy Mendy gets involved, pinging the ball out to both flanks with consecutive passes as Leicester try to get a foothold in this second half.
56 min: Matt Lowton fires high and wide with a howitzer from distance.
54 min: The pendulum has swung and it’s Burnley who are having much the better of the early stages of this second half. This is an intriguing contest and a far more entertaining one than I was expecting.
52 min: With his back to goal, on the edge of the Leicester penalty area, Chris Wood controls a pass from Lowton, creates a yard for himself, turns and shoots. His shot is on target and brings another good save out of Schmeichel. They’re having quite the duel, centre-forward and goalkeeper.
51 min: Now it’s Choudhury’s turn to try his luck from distance but balloon the ball over the cross-bar.
49 min: A remarkable save from Schmeichel, who dives to his left and claws a goalbound Chris Wood header out for a corner. Wood did nothing wrong, hanging in the air after rising above his man on the edge of the six-yard box, then steering his header towards the far post. He cannot believe he hasn’t scored.
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48 min: Kelechi Iheanacho curls a shot high over the bar from outside the penalty area, when picking out one of Youri Tielemans or Jamie Vardy was probably the better option. Vardy is certainly not happy with him.
47 min: Hamza Choudhury concedes a free-kick on the halfway line after a lively start to the second half by Burnley.
Second half: Burnley 1-1 Leicester City
46 min: Burnley kick off, with no changes in personnel on either side.
Elsewhere in the Premier League: Sheffield United lead Aston Villa at half-time by the only goal of their game at Bramall Lane. David McGoldrick broke the deadlock just after the half-hour mark.
Half-time: Burnley 1-1 Leicester City
Peep! It’s all square at the break, with Leicester having come from a very early Matej Vydra goal down. It was borne out of an error from Hamza Choudhury, who should have atoned for his sins only to put an easy opportunity over some time later. An excellent volley from Kelechi Iheanacho did restore parity for Leicester, who have been dominant ever since.
45+1 min: Charlie Taylor tries his luck from a long way out. The ball bounces a couple of times in front of ASchmeichel, who gathers comfortably.
44 min: Vydra prods the ball straight at Schmeichel after being played in by Lowton. Offside ... by a mile.
40 min: Better from Pope, who parries a rising Tielemans rasper out for a corner. Leicester play it short but the ball is eventually cleared by Ben Mee. Following their horror-start, Leicester are very much in the ascendency on the pitch, if not on the scoreboard.
39 min: Some equaliser admin: a tip of the hat to Wilfried Ndidi for his superb arcing delivery towards Iheanacho, and a tut-tut in the direction of Burnley goalkeeper Nick Pope, who seemed unsure whether to stick or twist as Iheanacho bore down on his goal and ended up getting stranded in no-man’s land.
37 min: Schmeichel saves brilliantly from Tarkowski, who was sure he’d scored after getting on the end of a cross from the left with his head. Schmeichel was behind the goal-line but kept the ball from crossing it after getting down at lightning speed to claw it clear.
GOAL! Burnley 1-1 Leicester (Iheanacho 34)
That’s me told! Kelechi Iheanacho scores a wonder-goal, dashing into the Burnley penalty area and catching a Wilfried Ndidi pass from deep, as it dropped over his shoulder on the volley. He never once took his eyes off the ball as it dropped and could not have caught it more sweetly.
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29 min: Burnley win a free-kick halfway inside the Leicester half and arrow the ball long towards Wood at the far post. He wins the header, but his knock-down is cleared. Unsubtle but effective from Burnley.
28 min: A Choudhury shot on the Burnley goal is put out for a corner but the subsequent set-piece delivery is woeful.
27 min: Youri Tielemans whips a cross towards Vardy and Iheanacho but Ben Mee heads it clear.
24 min: On the edge of the six-yard box, Soyuncu’s feet slip out from under him again as he attempts to defend a cross to the far post. He gets away with it – the Burnley striker shooting straight at Schmeichel, rather than crossing for Vydra.
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23 min: The ball’s played wide to Josh Brownhill on the right wing. With three team-mates waiting for his cross into the Leicester penalty area, he fails to clear the first man with his delivery.
21 min: Good goalkeeping from Schmeichel, who deals capably with a couple of bombs dropping his way under intense pressure from the hulking Wood.
19 min: A Soyuncu slip allows Chris Wood to steal the ball and gallop towards the Leicester penalty area. The Leciester defender recovers to tackle Wood and the ball breaks to Vydra. He attempts to play it back into the path of Wood, who had halted his run and raised his hands because he knew he was offside. Vydra should have gone it alone.
17 min: No doubt stung by my pre-match criticism, Kelechi Iheanacho has been looking sprightly in these early stages. A shot on the turn from distance fizzes narrowly wide but Nick Pope had it covered.
15 min: Much better from Leicester, who have woken up after their awful start and are giving Burnley plenty to think about. Prior to that Hamza chance they won their first corner of the game, when James Tarkowski was forced to intercept a dangerous pull-back from the byline by Iheanacho.
12 min: Not for the first time in this game, Hamza Choudhury has his head in his hands. He connects with a cross from the left and looks certain to score from six or seven yards out, only to hit the ball into the ground with the goal at his mercy and watch in horror as it bounces up and Nick Pope helps it over the bar with a finger-tip. That’s an awful miss.
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11 min: Charlie Taylor is very lucky not to concede a penalty as Youri Tielemans goes to ground near the byline and looks hopefully at referee Andy Madley. He remains unmoved and there’s no intercession by VAR but I’ve seen penalties given for a helluva lot less this season. Taylor had his hands all over Tielemans.
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9 min: Hats off to Burnley, who have roared out of the traps this evening, in stark contrast to their feeble opening few minutes agfainst Tottenham on Sunday.
6 min: It’s no surprise that Burnley are targeting makeshift centre-back Wilfried Ndidi, but the poor sod could do without his own team-mates riffing on his pain and making what promises to be a tough evening even more difficult. That was a woefully underhit backpass in his direction by Choudhury and Vydra was live to the opportunity.
GOAL! Burnley 1-0 Leicester City (Vydra 4)
A sloppy backpass by Hamza Choudhury sells Ndidi short and gifts a goal to Matej Vydra. He pounces on the ball on the edge of the Leicester penalty area, advances a couple of steps and smashes the ball past Kasper Schmeichel.
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3 min: Ashley Westwood clips a pass into the Burnl;ey penalty area but the ball is cleared by Ndidi. It was the stand-in centre-half who Ben Mee got the jump on in the opening minute.
2 min: Leicester have indeed lined up with a back three, with Caglar Soyuncu marshalling them in the middle.
Burnley v Leicester is go ...
1 min: Leicester get the ball rolling, their players wearing white shirts, shorts and socks. Burnley are in their usual home kit. Ben Mee goes close with a header early doors, stealing in at the far post to direct a free-kick delivery from deep over the frame of the goal with his head. Wide, but not by much.
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Not long now: The teams are out on the Turf Moor sward, Burnley following Leicester out ahead of the last of the pre-match formalities. Both sets of players line up either side of the match officials and kick-off is just a coin-toss, a shrill blast of Stuart Attwell’s whistle and a couple of minutes away.
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Brendan Rodgers speaks: “No,” he says with a laugh, upon being asked by Sky Sports if he can tell them how he is going to set up his team tonight. “You can earn your money and figure it out when the game starts.” He’s keeping his cards close to his chest and who can blame him?
Prediction time: They may not be favourites and are facing opponents who are sitting third in the table, but I quite fancy Burnley to win this game tonight.
It is inconceivable they will put in as dreadful a performance as they did against Tottenham, while they are hosting a side that is missing several key players, on a bad run, looking thoroughly jaded and missing two of it’s best players.
Jamie Vardy is far from fully fit, if the evidence of Leicester’s game against Arsenal is anything to go by, while I remain thoroughly unconvinced by Kelechi Iheanacho abilities as a striker. Cue: hat-tricks for the pair of them as they swat Burnley aside with a minimum of fuss.
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Leicester’s formation: It looks like Leicester will be lining up with three at the back, in the form of Daniel Amartey, Caglar Soyuncu and Wilfried Ndidi. In such a scenario, one imagines Ricardo Pereira and Timothy Castagne will be playing as wing-backs, with Hamza Choudhury providing some central midfield muscle in front of the defence.
Those teams: Just the one change for Burnley, who bring in Chris Wood for Jay Rodriguez up front.
Leicester make three changes to the side that were decidedly underwhelming against Arsenal, two of them enforced. Harvey Barnes and Jonny Evans are both injured, while Luke Thomas drops to the bench. In come Daniel Amartey, Hamza Choudhury and Mapalys Mendy for the Foxes.
Burnley v Leicester City line-ups
Burnley: Pope, Lowton, Tarkowski, Mee, Taylor, Brownhill, Westwood, Cork, McNeil, Vyrda, Wood.
Subs: Peacock-Farrell, Stephens, Rodriguez, Pieters, Bardsley, Long, Dunne, Richardson, Benson.
Leicester City: Schmeichel, Amartey, Ndidi. Soyuncu, Pereira, Choudhury, Mendy, Tielemans, Castagne, Iheanacho, Vardy.
Subs: Ward, Fofana, Albrighton, Under, Fuchs, Thomas, Leshabela, Daley-Campbell, Tavares.
Referee: Andy Madley
Linesfolk: Adrian Holmes and Richard Holmes
VAR: Stuart Attwell
Fourth official: Jonathan Moss
Sean Dyche speaks: Roy Keane was in pantomimishly spiky form while working as a studio pundit on Sky Sports on Sunday afternoon, when Tottenham slaughtered Burnley. As the hosts went in 3-0 up at half-time, Keane was withering in his criticism of Burnley and suggested he could have played in the game.
“He probably could have,” Dyche said, when he was asked about Keane’s comments the following day. “I don’t know if you remember but he was pretty decent, to be fair. It wouldn’t surprise me if he could have.
“I don’t have a problem with people questioning us. It’s part of their jobs. They’re pundits for a reason, they have a voice, they have a say. Everyone has got an opinion.
“Football management is one of the strangest jobs where people are always telling you what you’re doing wrong. I don’t go to the doctors and tell him what he’s doing wrong, or my lawyers, or my solicitors, but apparently with football managers everybody thinks they can do better than us.
“But I’ve no problem with Roy Keane or anybody else.”
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Early Burnley team news: Ashley Barnes is out with a thigh injury, while Robbie Brady and Johann Berg Gudmundsson were both due to undergo late fitness tests. This game may come too soon for Erik Pieters, who is recovering from a pelvic injury. Having returned to fitness from whatever ailed them, Chris Wood and Dale Stephens both came off the bench against Tottenham on Sunday and will probably start tonight.
Early Leicester team news: Not good, would be a fairly accurate appraisal, if one were looking for a nutshell’s worth, although Brendan Rodgers deserves credit for refusing to whinge about the number of first team regulars he has sidelined, unlike a number of other Premier League managers we could mention. The Leicester boss has instead chosen to look upon the current crisis as a challenge to be embraced so that his squad can show its versatility.
Leicester go into tonight’s game with eight players sidelined or in serious doubt, the outstanding Harvey Barnes the latest to be stretchered off with a knee-injury that isn’t as bad as was originally feared but did require surgery and is expected to keep him out for at least six weeks.
Ayoze Perez, James Maddison, Jonny Evans, Dennis Praet, Wesley Fofana and Wes Morgan are also injured. Maddison, Fofana and Evans could conceivably feature this evening, but are unlikely to be risked. Jamie Vardy is also suffering from fitness issues after being rushed back into action from a hernia operation but is almost certain to start again tonight.
Premier League: Burnley v Leicester City
Five points from safety and with just one win from their past seven league games, Burnley host Leicester City this evening. Ravaged by injuries to several key players, Leicester followed up their surprise Europa League exit with fairly emphatic defeat at the hands of Arsenal and will be looking to get back to winning ways to keep their impressive Champions League push on course. Kick-off at Turf Moor is at 6pm (GMT), but stay tuned in the meantime for team news and build-up.
