Full-time: Everton 2-1 Leicester
Everton’s advance their push for a Europa League spot by denting Leicester’s Champions League hopes. It was a deserved win for the home side, who were sharper and smarter than the visitors. Leicester enjoyed an upturn for about 20 minutes in the second half and threatened to equalise, but they sagged again after that. Vardy was barely involved for most of the match. In the end, Leicester were just too flat. And now, despite so much fine work this season, their campaign is at risk of ending in an anti-climax.
90+5 min: Leicester keep passing. But it’s too slow and predictable.
90+2 min: Keane, who has been excellent today, heads away the latest Leicester cross, this time from Gray.
90+1 min: Vardy, of whom we’ve seen little, skips past two down the left and fires in a low cross. Perez, from a position similar to the one from which Richarlison shot Everton in front, gets off a first-time shot. It’s deflected wide.
90 min: There will be at least six more minutes. Time for Leicester to find a second wind, even if they never truly found a first?
89 min: Everton are seeing this game out intelligently. Leicester upsurge in the first half of the second period has subsided.
87 min: That’s awful by Maddison. Instead of rolling a straight-forward pass to Justin on the right, he went for an ostentatious chip to the full-back and found only touch. Leicester are fizzling out. Like their season?
86 min: Chilwell glides past Gomes but can’t beat Coleman.
85 min: Leicester take an age to deliver a corner. And then Gray flops it straight to the defender and the near post. This is not good enough from Leicester.
82 min: Iheanacho lopes down the right on to a dinked pass over the top. He dabs an elegant pass into the danger zone. But it’s fractionally too high for Vardy.
80 min: Leicester substitution: Gray and Perez on, Albrighton and Tielemans off. A huge 10 minutes on the way for Leicester. Turn this around and it’ll be a mighty boost to their confidence and their top four hopes. Fail, and Chelsea, Wolves and Manchester United will be sensing their blood. “If the Brendon and envelopes thing is getting a bit old here, I can only imagine what the Rodgers family goes through every time the post is delivered,” guffaws Ian Copestake.
76 min: Chilwell tries to outfox Coleman and get in a cross. But Coleman’s having none of it.
75 min: Maddison and Iheanacho have made a big impact since coming on. And they’ve just combined beautifully to work their way into the area. Maddison then lofts a cross from the byline towards the back post. It eventually comes to Chilwell, who wellies it into the stands from eight yards.
75 min: Pickford booked for time-wasting.
74 min: Everton now have a five-man defence. Mina, in the heart of it, heads Chilwell’s latest cross clear.
72 min: Iheanacho skips between two and then wraps his foot around a decent low shot from 20 yards. Pickford gets down to it and doesn’t mess up.
67 min: Everton substitution: Mina on, Iwobi off. it’s all about clinging on to the lead now for Everton.
66 min: Drinks break. “Just catching up on this and have been led to ponder sending the keeper the wrong way for a penalty hit straight down the middle”, drawls Geoff Wignall. I get the point you’re trying to make, Geoff. But I submit that if a keeper did not go the way that the ball went, then he went the wrong way.
65 min: Pickford runs of his line as he goes fishing at he back post for a long cross by Albrighton. Vardy gets to it first and nods it back to Iheanacho, who does brilliantly to flip it over the head of Keane. But he can’t keep his shot down, blasting over from eight yards. Leicester are banging on that door, though, and Pickford isn’t helping his defenders’ nerves.
62 min: What a blunder by Pickford! He allowed a harmless low cross from the left to roll through his hands. Keane, caught unawares, nearly nudges it over his own line from close range! But he recovers in time to swipe it clear. Leicester were millimetres away from drawing level!
Everton’s Michael Keane clears off the line. Photograph: Peter Powell/Pool/AP
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61 min: Brilliant work by Maddison. He showed close control and wriggly skills to weave his way past three and into the area. But he was off-balance when he fired of a left-footed shot. Blocked.
60 min: Everton push back Leicester for the first time in this half. Justin has to make a great block to deny Sigurdsson from the edge of the area after clever work down the right by Iwobi.
57 min: Everton substitution: Davies on, Richarlison off. That whack that the Brazilian took around his ankle from Ndidi has forced Everton into a change. Introducing a midfielder for the striker is no doubt intended to stem the flow that Leicester have get going in the second half.
54 min: Leicester have been much sharper since the break, and even more so since their goal. Their passing is sharper and smarter. Everton are having to strain harder to keep them at bay. But they’ll get a break now because Ndidi has arrived late into a tackle on Richarlison. A booking for the midfield, some treatment for the striker.
GOAL! Evereton 2-1 Leicester (Iheanacho 51)
Leicester have changed all right! Their substitute gets them back in the game thanks partly to a lucky break. Tielemans floated a pass into the area, which Vardy helped on. Iheanacho ran on to it and Pickford tried to whack it clear but smashed the ball into the striker’s head. Iheanacho didn’t care when he saw the ball bounce into the net. Game on!
Leicester’s Kelechi Iheanacho (second right) gets teh visitors back in the game. Photograph: Peter Powell/Pool/AP
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48 min: Digne unloads a rockets from long range. Justin tries to block it and is knocked over! The changes trajectory to much that Schmiechel has to scramble across to the other side of his goal and tip it out for a corner.
46 min: Unsurprisingly, Leicester have made changes: Maddison and Iheanacho are on in place of Barnes and Praet. Will the new arrivals help give Leicester the spark they’ve lacked so far?
Half-time: Everton 2-0 Leicester
That was quite accomplished from Everton. They took the lead through a well worked goal, then got a lucky break with a penalty for a handball by Ndidi. Since then Everton have pretty much kept Leicester at arm’s lengths, rejecting a slew of crosses from either flank. Only twice have Leicester picked a way through the middle: the first time resulted in a shot by Tielemans being blocked, and the second one ended with Pickford making a fine save to deny Vardy. Leicester’s Champions League ambitions are at stake: the second half will is going to be huge for them. “If Leicester carry on with this form, Brendan will be opening those envelopes early,” blurts Stephen Carr.
Updated
45+2 min: Everton are finishing the half strongly. They’re making Leicester chase them, and Leicester aren’t doing that particularly effectively. Everton look sharper.
