RANIERI STILL ROOTED AS MADDISON RUINS REUNION
WITH folded arms and no hint of a celebration, Claudio Ranieri did not flinch when Fulham took the lead against the club he turned into champions. Facing his old side for the first time since that 5,000-1 triumph in 2016, Ranieri did not want to show disrespect. Perhaps he also knew this game was far from over. Fulham had not kept a clean sheet all season and now, if they could secure their first, they would climb out of the relegation zone. Unfortunately for Ranieri, it was not to be. It was James Maddison, one of the top-flight’s revelations this season, who equalised in the 74th minute to ruin this Leicester reunion for their former manager. Fulham remain bottom. Ranieri reflected afterwards: ‘It was a very emotional match for me. The Leicester fans and Fulham fans sang my name at the beginning and end of the match. ‘I think a draw is right. A draw is OK. One point is better than nothing.’ Some Leicester supporters braved the weather and showed their gratitude by wearing T-shirts depicting their former boss as Don Corleone from The Godfather. Yet when Ranieri walked out, he kept his head down, appearing determined to avoid distractions. Fulham had a job to do if they were to avoid becoming history-makers of their own. Not since 1950 had Fulham failed to keep a clean sheet in 19 consecutive top-flight games. Maddison’s late leveller made sure the wait goes on. ‘It was a good goal,’ said Foxes boss Claude Puel. ‘We found a fighting spirit and a desire to come back.’ Fulham almost conceded within three minutes when Kelechi Iheanacho, starting instead of the injured Jamie Vardy, broke
through but he was denied by Sergio Rico in the home goal. Fulham then thought they had landed the first blow, but a splitsecond reaction from Kasper Schmeichel stopped Calum Chambers opening the scoring. Schmeichel was beaten soon afterwards. Aleksandar Mitrovic flicked the ball through for Aboubakar Kamara, whose first touch made the crowd think the chance was wasted. Yet the French forward turned, sending Caglar Soyuncu sliding off the pitch in the process, and fired beneath Schmeichel. Could Fulham keep their first clean sheet of the season? Ranieri knows a thing or two about miracles and the statistics said that would be up there. The Cottagers had conceded at least twice in 12 of their 14 games. Puel introduced Shinji Okazaki, and two minutes after coming on he crossed to Maddison, who made no mistake. With that the reunion was over, and Ranieri walked off to the soundtrack of his name being belted out by both sets of fans. FULHAM (4-2-3-1): Rico 7; Christie 6 (Ream 84mins), Odoi 6, Mawson 6, Le Marchand 6 (Bryan 77); Chambers 7, Seri 7; Kamara 6.5, Vietto 5 (Cairney 45, 6), Sessegnon 6.5; Mitrovic 6. Subs not used: Bettinelli, Kebano, Schurrle, Anguissa. Scorer: Kamara 42. Booked: None. Manager: Claudio Ranieri 6. LEICESTER (4-2-3-1): Schmeichel 6; Simpson 6 (Okazaki 72, 6), Morgan 6, Soyuncu 6, Chilwell 6; Mendy 6 (Iborra 71, 6), Ndidi 6; Diabate 6 (Gray 55, 6), MADDISON 7.5, Albrighton 6.5; Iheanacho 6. Subs not used: Ward, Pereira, Fuchs, Knight. Scorer: Maddison 74. Booked: None. Manager: Claude Puel 6. Referee: David Coote 6. Attendance: 22,881.