DRAW BLIMEY

Napoli peg back frustrated Foxes with a late Osimhen double

LEICESTER blew a golden chance to get their Europa League campaign off to a winning start when they let a two-goal lead slip away last night.

Napoli’s Victor Osimhen pegged them back with a late double after looking like he could not hit a barn door for most of the match.

But he found the target when it mattered – and when it hurt – with a 69thminute goal and then headed home an equaliser two minutes from time.

The Foxes looked to be cruising when the impressive Harvey Barnes drilled home soon after the hour mark to add to the early lead Ayoze Perez had given the home side.

But it all went wrong late on and that included the stoppage-time dismissal of Wilfred Ndidi when he picked up a second yellow.

Brendan Rodgers’ decision to start without star names such as Jamie Vardy, James Maddison and Youri Tielemans may have caused one or two raised eyebrows when the teamsheet dropped into the Napoli dressing room.

The Leicester boss’s selection could be considered brave or risky, depending on your view, particularly against opponents who had started the Serie A season in splendid fashion.

Napoli had extended their 100 per cent record with a third win on the bounce at the weekend, a late goal toppling Juventus.

But Rodgers decided to shake things up a bit and then watched his side go at the visitors from the off. It did not take long for their brisk start to pay dividends when Perez put them into a ninth-minute lead.

The Foxes went close just a couple of minutes earlier when Perez hit a first-time shot which bounced away off the legs of former Arsenal keeper David Ospina.

But it was Barnes causing havoc again minutes later and this time Leicester made it count.

Ryan Bertrand set them on their way with a neat interception just inside his own half, putting Barnes away down the left.

He played a one-two with Patson Daka before clipping the ball superbly towards the far post where Perez smashed a volley past Ospina to give the Foxes the advantage.

Napoli responded, desperately trying to get back on level terms and only had themselves to blame for not doing so. They wasted a number of reasonable chances, with striker Osimhen the main culprit.

Leicester looked to have delivered a real hammer blow on the hour, only to see Daka’s well-taken effort ruled out for offside.

But Barnes took it on himself to make up for that, cashing in on the far side of the box after Kelechi Iheanacho found him with a superb ball.

Barnes made no mistake, taking the pass in his stride and setting his sights before drilling a shot into the far corner of the net.

That should have been enough but Napoli replied instantly, the erratic Osimhen finally getting some reward for his endeavours when he shrugged aside Jannik Vestergaard a bit too easily and poked a dropping shot over Kasper Schmeichel before earning a draw with his looping effort with two minutes left to play.