That’s it for today’s blog. I’ll leave you with Paul Doyle’s match report from the King Power Stadium, and John Brewin’s bumper clockwatch. Bye!
Here’s James Maddison
“We are a top side now – I think we have to be seen as one of those top sides. Nobody will want to come to this place when it’s rocking like this. If you look at our performances at Chelsea and United, we came away shaking our heads in disappointment because we didn’t get what we deserved. We’re showing we’re a big threat now.
“You get that little lift [when the opposition have a goal disallowed by VAR]. I’ve had some chances this season, and I need to score more goals if I want to take my game to the next level. I’m a little bit worried about the ankle, but I’ll go and see how it is now.”
That was great fun. Harry Kane scored an extraordinary goal to give Spurs the lead. Ricardo Pereira equalised from close range and then James Maddison scored a delightful late winner. He is going places; so are Leicester.
Full time: Leicester City 2-1 Tottenham Hotspur
Peep peep! Leicester move up to second in the table, at least for a couple of hours, after a stirring comeback victory. It was a fine game between two excellent sides, but Leicester just about deserved to win after an excellent second-half performance.
90+4 min Leicester look reasonably comfortable, despite the inevitable late pressure from Spurs.
90+3 min Maddison is still out there but he can’t run. That’s a worry, especially if it’s an ankle ligament injury.
90+1 min There will be six minutes of added time.
90 min The impressive Soyuncu makes a couple of important interceptions, one with his head and one with his left foot. Brendan Rodgers is developing a really fine young side.
89 min Maddison is limping heavily. He’s going to continue, though, as Leicester have used all their substitutes.
88 min Maddison has a problem with his left ankle. He landed awkwardly while trying to play a through pass, and is receiving treatment.
87 min Lucas Moura replaces Ndombele for Spurs.
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The most exciting young player in England gives Leicester the lead with a superb goal. Choudhury played a short pass to Maddison 25 yards from goal; he took two quick touches to set humself up and then belted a low, curling shot that snaked past the diving Gazzaniga and into the corner. That’s a lovely goal.
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GOAL! Leicester 2-1 Tottenham (Maddison 85)
A brilliant goal from James Maddison!
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84 min Leicester make their last substitution: Youri Tielemans off, Hamza Choudhury on.
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84 min “Hi Rob,” says Andrew Buddery. “I thought VAR was supposed to eliminate clear and obvious errors, not make them.”
83 min Gray is booked straight away for a studs-up lunge on Rose. That could have been a red card. Just before that, Kane shot too close to Schmeichel after a nice Spurs move.
82 min A Leicester substitution: Demarai Gray replaces Harvey Barnes.
82 min Rose’s cross clears everyone in the middle and comes to Aurier beyond the far post. He takes a touch and lashes a low shot that goes well wide of the far post. That was a good chance.
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80 min “Of all the valid complaints against VAR, offsides isn’t one of them,” says Mary Waltz. “He. Was. Offside. Yes, by less than an inch.”
But how does VAR judge when the ball is played? The split-second between the ball touching the foot and then leaving it makes all the difference. I’d like to see how that works before I trust it on such tight decisions.
79 min Erik Lamela is replaced by Christian Eriksen.
79 min Son quickens the pace, skinning Tielemans and hitting a dangerous cross that is palmed away by Schmeichel. Evans completes the clearance. Moments later, Kane misses with an attempted overhead kick.
77 min The Leicester fans are making a fair old noise. It does feel like the kind of game that will have a late winner, although I’m not sure who will get it.
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74 min “The Son offside call on VAR,” says Sandile Xaso. “This cannot be our sport, this cannot be right.”
You’re right: it’s not right, and it’s not our sport any more.
73 min Leicester are pushing for a winner. Maddison threads a nice pass down the inside-right channel to Vardy, who bullets a rising drive just past the angle of post and bar. I think Gazzaniga had it covered.
Yep, this one counts. The move was started by Barnes, who found Vardy on the left side of the penalty area. His cross deflected off Alderweireld and fell perfectly for Ricardo, whose close-range shot hit the sliding Rose and beat Gazzaniga.
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GOAL? Leicester 1-1 Spurs (Ricardo 70)
Leicester are level!
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67 min A substitution apiece: Praet for Perez, Wanyama for Sissoko.
NO GOAL! Leicester 0-1 Tottenham
VAR has decided that Son was 0.0000001 centimetres offside in the build-up.
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There’s a VAR check for offside against Son.
Leicester will feel they’ve been mugged. Soyuncu made a fine tackle on Son in the box, but Kane picked up the loose ball and found Aurier in space on the edge of the area. He controlled the ball and lashed a shot that took a slight deflection before spinning past Schmeichel.
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GOAL! Leicester 0-2 Spurs (Aurier 64)
A goal was coming - but it’s Spurs who have scored it!
63 min It feels like a Leicester goal is coming, and Chilwell wins another corner on the left.
62 min Barnes shifts the ball to the side of Aurier and hammers a low cross that flashes right across the face of goal.
60 min Barnes heads wide from eight yards. It was a difficult chance, because Ricardo’s lofted cross had no pace on it at all. But the build-up play was lovely, particularly Maddison’s control in a phonebox as he pulled down Perez’s pass from the right.
58 min: Son misses an excellent chance! Spurs broke from the Leicester corner and should probably have gone 2-0 ahead. Winks, on the left, played an angled through pass to find Son in the area, but he dragged a left-footed shot wide of the far post.
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57 min: Good save from Gazzaniga! Tielemans slipped a through pass to Vardy, who surged into the area and hit a left-footed shot across goal. The sliding Vertonghen took some of the heat out of the shot, having done brilliantly to stay with Vardy, and Gazzaniga dived to his left to push it away. Rose completed the job by putting the loose ball behind for a corner.
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56 min Here’s Ian Copestake. “As a chant in response to Leicester fans’ implying ref bias, I am not sure if ‘Paul Tierney’s done really well, in very difficult circumstances’ will scan.”
I can add a few effs and cees if you think it will help.
55 min Son finds Lamela in a bit of space on the edge of the D. He takes a touch and then, as defenders converge, whips a shot over the bar.
53 min Maddison’s corner is headed away by Lamela.
52 min Tielemans wins a corner after a nice run down the inside-left channel. Leicester look much sharper than they did towards the end of the first half.
50 min Leicester have started the second half really well. After a nice move down the left, Chilwell’s early cross is just too far in front of Vardy.
46 min Barnes beats Aurier on the left of the area and hits a shot that is headed away by Alderweireld. Ndidi’s follow-up dribbles wide.
46 min Peep peep! Leicester begin the second half.
“Was the VAR decision correct?” says Liam. “They looked at the moment when the shot was struck but if you watch it again none of the Leicester strikers followed the shot they ran back to get onside and then ran in. If this is correct will a goal scored by a keeper be disallowed because a striker near the halfway line was offside?”
Yeah, it was the correct decision. Perez had an advantage by being in an offside position, because he was able to get to the loose ball before the Leicester defenders. Thus it counts as the same phase of play. At least I think that’s the logic. To be honest, I’ve given up trying to understand how football works in a post-VAR world.
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“Some half-time thoughts on Spurs: while the pundits want to declare the Pochettino project in decline, as a fan I see them as trying to maintain a high level whilst navigating a transition,” says Matthew Carpenter-Arevalo. “The thinness of the squad showed cracks as they made their turn at the end of last season. Now, almost the entire defence and some of the midfield (Sissoko/Eriksen) needs to be replaced in the short and mid-term. Despite all this, when they’re trailing in a game you can never count them out of the game. That resilience is probably Poch’s biggest achievement and hopefully will transcend even his time with the club.”
Is the squad that thin? I think the problem – in terms of catching City and Liverpool – is the first XI rather than the back-up. They’re still the third best team in England, though, which is only a slight decline from 2015-17.
Half-time reading
Half time: Leicester 0-1 Spurs
Peep peep! Spurs lead through a unique goal from Harry Kane. See you in 10 minutes for the second half!
43 min “Lamela’s got that no-look look on,” says Jeremy Dresner. “A very fun player to watch when he is passing like this.”
That he is. I love the way he hugs the ball on his left foot.
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41 min Lamela, who has had so much space between the centre-backs and Ndidi, surges forward and finds Kane on the right of the box. His left-footed shot is surprisingly tame and Schmeichel makes an easy save.
39 min Perez, found by Tielemans, thrashes a shot towards the near post that is beaten around the post by Gazzaniga.
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37 min “Lightning quick beautiful goal,” says Mary Waltz. “How did Kane do that?!!”
Instinct, the footballer’s best friend.
33 min Ricardo Pereira shoots a few yards wide from distance. Gazzaniga had it covered.
31 min Lamela finds Kane, who drags a low shot well wide from the edge of the area. That goal, though. It reminded me a little bit of Gianluca Vialli’s incredible sliding header against Bari in 1991-92.
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What a stunning piece of improvisation. Son, found by Lamela, moved to the edge of the area and backheeled the ball into the path of the onrushing Kane. He was bumped by Soyuncu, which meant he was off balance as he dragged the ball past the last man Evans. By the time Kane was in a position to shoot he was in the process of falling flat on his face. Yet he still had the awareness and ability to chop down on the ball, stunning it into the ground so that it bounced over Schmeichel’s shoulder and into the net. That’s an astonishing goal.
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GOAL! Leicester 0-1 Spurs (Kane 29)
What a goal from Harry Kane!
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28 min That’s better from Perez, who drags an angled through pass to Vardy on the left side of the box. His low cross-shot ricochets across the six-yard box and eventually behind for a goalkick.
26 min A hideous touch from Perez, who looks low on confidence, ruins a promising Leicester break.
25 min Perez is down after being caught in the face by a flailing arm from Rose. It was accidental.
22 min “You’re not fit to referee” chant the Leicester fans. Paul Tierney’s done really well, I think, in very difficult circumstances.
21 min Rose goes over in the area after a challenge from Evans, and Paul Tierney turns down Spurs’ penalty appeals. There was definitely contact, although I think Rose ran into Evans.
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19 min Sissoko definitely won the ball, although he cleaned Maddison out in his follow through. I think he slipped as well, which made it look even worse. Some people would have given a red card; others wouldn’t have even given a free-kick.
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18 min Sissoko is booked. I’d like to see that again. The Leicester players went ballistic, and he absolutely wiped Maddison out. The Leicester fans are chanting ‘VAR’.
18 min Sissoko could be off here. He’s absolutely flattened Maddison, an old-fashioned man-and-ball tackle.
A Leicester corner was half-cleared to Tielemans, whose stinging shot was fumbled by Gazzaniga. That led to a scramble in the six-yard box involving Perez, among others, before Ndidi scored from close range. Replays showed that Perez was offside when Tielemans had the original shot, and so the goal was disallowed.
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NO GOAL! Leicester 0-0 Tottenham
Yes, it’s offside.
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Hang on, this could be VARed.
GOAL! Leicester 1-0 Spurs (Ndidi 16)
Ndidi scores after a mistake from Gazzaniga!
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15 min: Gazzaniga saves from Maddison! It was a gorgeous, twinkle-toed run from Maddison, who danced past Winks and then Alderweireld in the area before hitting a low shot from a tight angle that was kicked behind by Gazzaniga.
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13 min Nice play from Maddison, who moves classily past Sissoko and reaches the edge of the area before trying a curling shot that goes a few yards away.
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12 min Not for the first time, Aurier wasted a promising position with a poor cross. Spurs are playing well, though, and have had 71 per cent of the possession so far.
11 min Soyuncu, in his own area, sits Aurier on his backside with a confident turn. The crowd enjoyed that.
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8 min Maddison’s inswinging corner is headed on at the near post by Evans and flashes right across the six-yard box.
7 min Lamela has had a lot of the ball in the first few minutes. Both attacks look really sharp, and Vardy scurries down the left to win the first corner.
4 min Both sides are full of attacking intent. It’s been a brilliant start to the game.
3 min Now Kane tries his luck with a disguised shot from 25 yards. Schmeichel moves smartly across his line and does well to hold on to the shot.
3 min At the other end, Son shoots just wide of the far post from a tight angle. It’s been a cracking start to the game.
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2 min Beautiful play from Leicester. Tielemans plays a sharp pass infield towards Barnes, who runs over the ball and allows it to run to Maddison. He plays it first time through to Barnes, who is caught in two minds - shoot or control - and ends up poking a fairly tame shot at Gazzaniga from 15 yards.
2 min “Always good to be committed to a grumble and get it in early,” says Jeremy Dresner. “Why are Spurs after returning from a cauldron on a hot day in Greece on Wednesday night playing the early game on Saturday? Is the role of the FA to maintain fairness or protect the players? Either way it seems remiss of them.”
I think the TV fixtures were chosen before the Champions League draw, although I take your point. Does an extra two and a half hours really make much difference? I failed my GCSE in Footballer Knack, so I’m not sure.
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1 min Peep peep! Spurs, in white, kick off from right to left. Leicester are in blue.
The players are in the tunnel. It’s a beautiful day in Leicester, and this has the whiff of a cracker.
“Spurs are fourth,” says Simon Betterton, “and they’re closer to the bottom than the top!”
That’s a great spot. They’re six points above Watford and seven behind Liverpool.
Some pre-match reading
Team news
Spurs are without Hugo Lloris, whose wife has just given birth, so Paulo Gazzaniga starts.
Leicester City (4-1-4-1) Schmeichel; Ricardo, Evans, Soyuncu, Chilwell; Ndidi; Perez, Tielemans, Maddison, Barnes; Vardy.
Substitutes: Ward, Justin, Morgan, Gray, Albrighton, Choudhury, Praet.
Tottenham Hotspur (4-D-2) Gazzaniga; Aurier, Alderweireld, Vertonghen, Rose; Winks; Sissoko, Ndombele; Lamela; Kane, Son.
Substitutes: Whiteman, Davies, Wanyama, Dier, Eriksen, Moura, Skipp.
Referee Paul Tierney.
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Preamble
Hello. Leicester might be the most intriguing team in the Premier League. They have a posse of brilliant young players and are the most likely team to break the sexopoly that has been in place since Leicester won the whole goddamn thing four seasons ago.
Early days and all that, but they are level on points with Spurs, Chelsea, Arsenal and Manchester United after five games. A statement victory today, against a Spurs team whose behaviour of late has been a bit odd, would reinforce the feeling that they are ready to damage the glass ceiling.
Kick off is at 12.30pm.
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