CHERRIES GRAB LIFELINE
SHOULD Bournemouth achieve the improbable and extend their stay in the Premier League, they will be thanking Leicester City for many months to come.
Midway through the second half, the visitors led 1-0 thanks to Jamie Vardy’s 23rd goal of the season and were in command. They were cruising back to third in the table and sending Eddie Howe’s team to the brink of relegation. Then, within a minute, Leicester imploded. Kasper Schmeichel blasted the ball against team-mate Wilfred Ndidi, who fouled Callum Wilson for a penalty converted by half-time substitute Junior Stanislas. Seconds later, Dominic Solanke put Bournemouth ahead with his first Premier League goal in 39 games, and Leicester defender Caglar Soyuncu was sent off in the aftermath. Leicester’s nerves were shredded and further strikes by Stanislas, via a Jonny Evans deflection, and Solanke — four goals in 21 minutes — gave Bournemouth a precious victory. The Cherries are now just three points from 17th with three games left.
Leicester, meanwhile, may come to see this as the day their Champions League hopes slipped away. Brendan Rodgers’ team have had a fine season, but it will be hard to recover from this.
Bournemouth had not won a Premier League game since February, when they overcame fellow strugglers Aston Villa here, and the absence of Joshua King due to a hamstring injury was an early blow.
Following their post-lockdown wobble, Leicester had collected four points from two matches and they started the brighter, despite the early loss of Marc Albrighton due to injury.
Albrighton departed in the 16th minute after tangling with Solanke and earlier he came close to creating a goal. With Lloyd Kelly hesitating in defence, Kelechi Iheanacho ran on to the wing back’s pass and lifted the ball over Aaron Ramsdale. Luckily for the home side, Nathan Ake was there to clear the danger.
Even without the injured James Maddison, Leicester carried more threat in the opening stages and they took the lead just before the drinks break.
Ayoze Perez robbed Dan Gosling near the Cherries box and fed Iheanacho. Once again, he chipped Ramsdale and though Kelly stopped it going in, Bournemouth could not prevent Vardy bundling in the loose ball for his fourth goal in three matches.
Vardy could have had his second in the 38th minute when Arnaut Danjuma
bizarrely passed the ball straight to the Leicester forward, who was lurking on the edge of the box. Vardy made space and unleashed a left-foot shot only to be denied by a brilliant block from Ake.
Sadly for Bournemouth, this was Ake’s last impact on the game. He was injured in the challenge on Vardy and was replaced by Steve Cook. Leicester keeper
Schmeichel made a fine stop to keep out David Brooks’ 25-yard strike in first-half stoppage time — the first serious piece of work the Dane had had to do until then.
Howe made two changes at half-time, including Stanislas, switching to a back three to match Leicester’s system and moving Brooks, his most creative player, into a more central position.
Foxes boss Brendan Rodgers also made another change as midfielder Dennis Praet replaced the lively Iheanacho.
Following a free-kick on the left, a clever pass from Brooks found Cook in the box. The centre back slid the ball across goal but Wilson was on his heels at the far post and the chance was gone.
There appeared to be nowhere for Bournemouth to go — until Leicester handed them a route back into the match with the penalty converted by Stanislas.
In the melee that followed Solanke’s goal, Soyuncu aimed a kick at Wilson as they tussled for the ball in the net, and the Turkey defender was shown a straight red card.
Leicester could not come to terms with what had happened to them and under the circumstances, the two chaotic goals that followed were no surprise. First Stanislas scored his second after his shot had taken a huge deflection off Evans and left Schmeichel helpless.
And with three minutes remaining, Fuchs gave the ball away at a throw-in and Solanke was in again, prodding the ball beyond Schmeichel to seal an amazing comeback.