Everton and Leicester City played out an entertaining 1-1 draw at Goodison Park on Wednesday night.
The Blues went ahead thanks to a superb curling effort from James Rodriguez after 30 minutes.
But after plenty of second half pressure, the visitors eventually levelled thanks to Youri Tielemans' low strike, which somehow squeezed past Jordan Pickford.
Everton stay seventh, two points behind fourth-placed West Ham in the Premier League table, and here is how the national media reported on the game.
'Pickford's howler gifts Leicester valuable point'
Dave Maddock of the Daily Mirror wrote: Everton, for their part, answered some of the questions of their manager Carlo Ancelotti, before this game, when he said he would discover whether his side were up to the pressure their heady position in nose-bleed territory at the business end of the table brings.
Most of his team responded in the positive, with Michael Keane leading an organised and aggressive defensive display, and James Rodriguez providing the spark that looked for so long as though it would bring them a huge victory.
Pickford’s vulnerability though, proved costly.
The home team had seemed to weather a second half storm and looked increasingly comfortable in holding Leicester at bay, until his shocker 15 minutes from time turned the game.
He flapped at a cross, but even then there seemed little danger when Youri Tielemans fired in a shot from outside the box, straight at him.
Somehow though the ball squirmed from Pickford’s two-handed grasp and crept into the corner of the net.
It is a weakness Ancelotti has questioned previously, and one his side can not afford if they are to have serious top four ambitions.
The Blues have such defensive strength they can get a result against even the most dominant teams - as this proved.
'All the hard work was undone'
Dominic King of the Daily Mail scribed: With five defenders on the pitch, Everton were not going to be easily broken down and the system devised by Ancelotti started to frustrate Leicester. Lucas Digne, who had started in midfield, kept dropping into his natural left-back position and there was no way through.
Then, out of nowhere, they were struck by a bolt from a Blue that changed the direction of the contest. There was little sign of danger when Andre Gomes swept a 70-yard ball out to the left-flank or when Digne tried to play a first time ball back inside.
Even when Rodriguez tried to usher in Dominic Calvert-Lewin, Leicester seemed in control but, fatally, Wesley Fofana failed to control his interception and it rolled back to Rodriguez, who was given the opportunity to shoot. How he took it, bending a drive in off the post from 20 yards.
Pickford has made a number of aberrations this season but this, arguably, was the worst as he watched Tielemans effort slither away and roll over the line in slow motion. In an instant, all the hard work was undone.
'Goodison Park can have damaging consequences'
Richard Jolly of the Guardian wrote: Leicester could have gone level on points with Manchester City and Everton spent the best part of an hour fourth in the virtual table and ended up seventh, but while clubs with lofty ambitions could both rue a missed opportunity, perhaps a draw only had one real loser: Jordan Pickford.
As Brendan Rodgers, sacked by Liverpool 90 minutes after a Merseyside derby draw, can testify, a 1-1 at Goodison Park can have damaging consequences. The England goalkeeper blundered in front of the watching Gareth Southgate, gifting Youri Tielemans an equaliser and meaning James Rodríguez’s sumptuous strike became a subplot.
A glorious goal was cancelled out by a more fortunate one, but Leicester’s was nevertheless the more positive performance. Yet, wonderful as Rodríguez’s first goal since early October was, Tielemans’s less impressive effort may carry more significance and not merely because it stopped Everton from going above Liverpool.
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Teed up by Harvey Barnes, he drilled a shot through a crowd of players. Yet it was scarcely headed for the corner of the net and Pickford, who got both hands to it, only managed to push it on to the post and into his net.
As Leicester had 18 shots and 65% of possession, their leveller could be attributed to weight of pressure, except that Everton had been valiant in protecting Pickford. Ancelotti had staffed his back four with a quartet who are centre-backs by trade and they produced an array of blocks in a fine rearguard action. Ben Godfrey added to his burgeoning reputation with another precocious performance while a midfield shorn of his two summer signings, Allan and Abdoulaye Doucouré, lacked a natural defensive presence, adding to the workload of his battalion of central defenders.
