Mahrez on the mark with his first goal of season to earn Foxes valuable point
0 Riyad Mahrez, right, celebrates after his 80th-minute equaliser. Leicester City were unable to end their home hoodoo against West Bromwich Albion at the King Power Stadium last night.
The West Midlands side are now unbeaten in eight visits to the venue, winning five, and it always looked like a record they would extend after Nacer Chadli, pictured, gave them the lead with a superb 30-yard free-kick.
Riyad Mahrez, scoring his first goal of the season, equalised with 10 minutes remaining but Leicester were unable to get that elusive victory, meaning the last time they won at home against West Brom was January 1994 – Iwan Roberts scoring twice in a 3-2 success at Filbert Street.
There were full home debuts for Leicester’s summer signings Kelechi Iheanacho and Vicente Iborra while Danny Simpson made his 100th appearance for the club.
Visiting goalkeeper Ben Foster missed out with a knee problemsoboazmyhillmade his first Premier League start since April 2016, while Chadli started a league match for the first time this season.
The first half had few chances, little excitement and even less quality. Leicester had much of the ball but lacked ideas about how to penetrate a typically well-drilled Tony Pulis defensive unit, while West Brom were bereft of adventure from an attacking sense.
The only effort of note in an attritional first half came after 36 minutes. Myhill prevented Simpson from marking his milestone with a rare goal when he pushed away a driven shot from the right-hand side of the penalty area. Iborra was unable to control his attempt on the rebound and the ball went over the crossbar.
The match could only improve as a spectacle and the second half started with Jamie Vardy beating Myhill to a loose ball right on the edge of the penalty area. The West Brom goalkeeper received a yellow card for bringing down the nippy striker before keeping out a header from Harry Maguire from the resulting free-kick.
Mahrez then missed a glorious opportunity to put Leicester ahead, lifting his effort over from 10 yards out following good work down the left-hand side from Vardy and Marc Albrighton.
The Algerian’s aberration proved costly as 10 minutes later Chadli curled a lovely free-kick from 30 yards over the wall and into the net, leaving Leicester goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel wrongfooted.
Leicester boss Craig Shakespeare, a former player, coach and caretaker manager for West Brom, made a double substitution after 72 minutes, bringing on Ben Chilwell and Islam Slimani, with Simpson and Iheanacho making way. Six minutes later, the changes worked to perfection with the equaliser as Chilwell crossed for Slimani to head into the path of Mahrez, who atoned for his earlier miss with a tidy piece of chest control and low finish.
Myhill had to help a swerving long-range strike from Maguire over the bar as Leicester pushed for a winner –butwestbrom heldonand both teams are now without a win in six league matches.