Barnes rescues a point for City
WINGER ON TARGET AGAIN AT SELHURST PARK
HARVEY Barnes rescued Leicester City to earn a point at Crystal Palace yesterday and ensure they start the new year inside the Premier League’s top four.
Barnes struck inside the final 10 minutes in south London to earn a second successive draw, just when it looked like a muchchanged City would be left to rue Kelechi Iheanacho’s first half penalty miss and a lacklustre start to the second half in which Wilfried Zaha had put the hosts in front.
For long stretches of the game, City were much the better side, despite Brendan Rodgers rotating considerably, but failed to take their chances, with fresh faces Iheanacho and Dennis Praet guilty of profligacy in the first half.
It really was not Iheanacho’s day, not only seeing a spot-kick saved by Vicente Guaita but also miscuing a header from inside the six-yard box.
An unmarked Zaha volleyed in just before the hour to make City pay, but Barnes, one of the four City players who had kept their place from the 2-2 draw with United, came up trumps, finding the bottom corner from 18 yards for his eighth goal of the season.
City pushed for a winner as they tried to keep up their fine away record, with six victories from seven before heading to Selhurst Park, but they could not find one.
Still, a point moves them up to second for the time being and guarantees they will start 2021 in the Champions League places.
Rodgers was true to his word and rested his key players to avoid risking two-month injury lay-offs, as he put it, with just 48 hours between full-time on Boxing Day and kick-off in the capital. Vardy, Youri Tielemans, James Maddison and Wilfred Ndidi were among the seven changes, but Palace had a similarly short turnaround and swapped out five players.
One of those they brought in was James Tomkins, the centreback making his first start since February, and that rustiness was evident in the game’s first flashpoint.
City had dominated possession in the opening 15 minutes, with only harmless Daniel Amartey and Ayoze Perez headers to show for it, but were handed a golden opportunity when Tomkins lumbered across to the edge of the box and tripped Luke Thomas.
With no Vardy nor Tielemans on the pitch, penalty duty went to Iheanacho, and not Perez, who had scored when he took one against West Ham in January.
Iheanacho stuttered in his runup, but it did not fool Vicente
Guaita, who dived the right way and then threw up a hand to keep out the spot-kick.
Fine, controlled defending from Amartey then stopped Wilfried Zaha one-on-one to ensure Palace did not make City pay double.
From the corner, Christian Benteke headed just over, with claims of handball against Amartey waved away.
From there, it was a half packed with good chances, none of which was taken.
Perez’s cross deflected high into the air and landed on the bar, bouncing to the back post, where Praet had time to bring it down, only to blaze over.
Then, City title-winner Jeff Schlupp, making his 100th Premier League appearance for Palace, scampered down the left and crossed for Andros Townsend, who miscued from close range, to shoot wide.
Then came Iheanacho’s chance for redemption as neat, patient build-up led to Praet fizzing a cross to the near post.
The Nigerian had escaped his marker, but misjudged his header, shouldering over inside the sixyard box.
City continued to dominate and tested Guaita with shots from distance, but it was goalless at the break.
Zaha, who had had a few tussles and wars of words with James Justin in the first half, had the first shot of the second period, clearing the bar as he fell to the floor.
But Palace’s talisman was looking more lively than in the first half, and that should have been a warning.
Just before the hour, he picked up the ball in midfield, carried it forward and spread play to Townsend. Then the Ivorian ghosted in at the back post unmarked to meet Townsend’s deep cross and volley in.
City, no longer as dominant as they were in the first half, all of a sudden had their work cut out to get a result.
So on came Vardy, despite concerns about his troublesome groin.
Tielemans was already on the pitch, and was perhaps guilty of losing Zaha for the goal, while Demarai Gray was introduced for his first Premier League appearance of the season.
The substitutes had little to no impact, to the extent that when Barnes struck the equaliser, it felt like it came out of nowhere.
Just like against United, it was from outside the area with his weaker foot.
Barnes received the ball 20 yards out, jinked to create the smallest of openings from which to strike through, then found the bottom corner.
City were then on the front foot, but all of their chances in the final few minutes were skied.
Barnes hit over after a one-two with Perez, Gray ballooned a freekick and then, in the dying seconds, Perez struck over on the run after meeting Justin’s cute pass.
But there was to be no winner, with City drawing for the second game in a row.
However, this will feel like more of a missed opportunity than the draw with United two days earlier.
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