Leicester reprieved by Neal Maupay penalty miss but stall against Brighton
This was a great advertisement for matches behind closed doors. But the usefulness of the result to either team is unclear. Brighton edged a point closer to Premier League safety but know they might have plundered more here if Neal Maupay had converted a first-half penalty rather than send in a weak shot that amounted to an invitation to save. Kasper Schmeichel accepted it gratefully.
The draw leaves Brendan Rodgers’s side with just one win from their last seven matches; their charge for Champions League qualification has slowed to a crawl; they remain third in the table but their once-plush cushion is not looking comfortable. “We haven’t quite found our rhythm yet in attack [after the Premier League suspension],” said Rodgers. “I didn’t think we played with enough quality in the first half, in particular.”
Brighton could take more heart, especially from a first half in which they were significantly more vibrant than their hosts.
As a manager who has the courage of his convictions, Graham Potter has never been spooked by the spectre of relegation. That was plain from his team selection here, which was the youngest fielded by Brighton in the Premier League era. Three of the four changes to the lineup that started last Saturday’s victory over Arsenal were players aged 21 or under. Nineteen-yearold debutant right-back Tariq Lamptey was the most impressive of the trio, but 21-year-old Alexis Mac Allister and 20year-old Aaron Connolly also enjoyed bright moments.
“I don’t look at the age of the players,” said Potter. “We’re fighting for our lives. It’s about whoever the right player is, regardless of the age.”
Potter’s approach was vindicated by a first half in which Brighton were perkier, sharper and smarter than their high-flying hosts, who looked tactically flummoxed as Brighton buzzed around them. But the visitors failed to translate their superiority into a lead, Maupay flopping from the spot in the 14th minute.
The way the spot-kick came about reflected Brighton’s greater vivacity. Aaron Mooy dropped a teasing pass from deep over the top of the home defence, and James Justin looked well positioned to get to it first but failed to make a decisive intervention, instead tangling untidily with the pesky Connolly.
Despite the boost offered by their goalkeeper’s save, Leicester’s performance did not take off. They were unable to pass their way through the middle and made little inroads down the flanks, with Lamptey subduing Ben Chilwell while the absence of the injured Ricardo Pereira was sorely felt on Leicester’s right. Jamie Vardy, meanwhile, might as well have been following proceedings via a Zoom conference, as he barely touched the ball in the first half-hour. The three attackers just behind him – James Maddison, Kelechi Iheanacho and Demarai Gray – offered paltry service.
Connolly showed his sharpness for Brighton again just before the halfhour, when he embarked on a shredding run through the heart of the home defence before his shot from the edge of the area was deflected wide by Caglar Soyuncu.
Not until five minutes before the break did Vardy threaten – thanks to a comical error by the visiting goalkeeper, Mat Ryan, who accidentally threw the ball backwards when attempting to pick out a teammate. The mortified keeper scampered back to stifle Vardy’s attempt to deepen his embarrassment.
For all their impressive work in the first half, Brighton were thankful for a close-range miss by Soyuncu just before the break, the defender nodding wide after Gray’s shot ricocheted into his path at the back post following a clever free-kick by Maddison.
Surprisingly, Rodgers made no changes during the interval. But his team did show a little more cohesion in the second half. Wilfried Ndidi, hitherto eclipsed by Yves Bissouma, began to shine in midfield as the hosts applied pressure. But Leicester did not look like creating an opening until the 54th minute, when the ball broke to Chilwell amid frantic play in the Brighton box.
Unhappily for the hosts, Chilwell’s right foot is a far lower grade of a weapon than the left one he used to fire Leicester into the lead at Watford last weekend. Here he dragged a piffling shot wide.
Even though Brighton could no longer generate much forward momentum, Leicester sagged again after that, so much so that by the time Rodgers made his first substitutions, in the 69th minute, change felt overdue.
Brighton had to defend well in the last quarter of an hour and that is exactly what they did, snuffing out crosses and blocking shots with under only moderate duress. Rodgers said his team’s lull in form is only temporary. He also found amusement in reports from Spain that Leicester had agreed the transfer of William Carvalho from Real Betis. “I’m surprised by that,” he said with a chuckle.