Soccer

Iheanacho the hero for Leicester as they break Palace late on

Brendan Rodgers’ side strengthen their grip on third place with vital win at home

Leicester City’s Kelechi Iheanacho celebrates after scoring the winner in their Premier League clash with Crystal Palace. Photo: Andrew Boyers/AFP via Getty Images

Peter Lansley at the King Power Stadium
Mon Apr 26 2021 - 22:09

Leicester City 2 Crystal Palace 1

If it is remarkable to accept Leicester City have only been outside the top four of the Premier League for one matchday since September 2019 - on the last day of last season - then the seven-point buffer from fifth place they hold thanks to Kelechi Iheanacho’s latest match-winning effort should now suffice to ensure them of their place in next season’s Champions League.

Iheanacho continued his superb goalscoring run with the decisive goal 10 minutes from time as Leicester came from behind to earn their victory against a hard-working and well-organised Crystal Palace side who had led through Wilfried Zaha’s early goal.

The FA Cup finalists were far more intense in the second period and, after equalising through Timothy Castagne’s fine strike, played with the tempo that Brendan Rodgers would have called for.

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It will surely take more than Tottenham’a mantle as a ‘big six club’ to tempt Rodgers away from the East Midlands now that Leicester’s place in the existing European elite competition looks assured.

Iheanacho’s 13th goal in his last 13 Premier League games arrived when he simply ran onto Jonny Evans’ lofted pass into the inside-right channel, held off Patrick van Aanholt, cut inside Scott Dann and cracked home a left-footed shot into the near top corner.

Jamie Vardy, who loves playing against Palace, had three chances in the opening 10 minutes to add to his bounty in this fixture before Zaha, who loves playing against Leicester even more, did so.

Palace looked there for the taking initially, as Leicester’s No 9 started like a man on a mission. With five goals and an assist in his last nine Premier League starts against Palace, Vardy ran on to Iheanacho’s perfectly calibrated through ball in the third minute and almost rounded Vicente Guaita before the goalkeeper’s fingertips touched the ball onto the striker’s toes and away.

Moments later Vardy sprinted on to Castagne’s ball in behind only for Cheikhou Kouyaté to get a foot in just as Vardy was in the motion of shooting, the defender earning a fortuitous free-kick. When Castagne crossed and the ball broke free from Wilfred Ndidi’s attempted scissor-kick, Vardy blasted wide of the far upright. Did this mean it a matter of time before Leicester scored, or was it a sign this was not their night?

It is fair to say it was against the run of play when Palace attacked, let alone scored. It was refreshing that the goal was not checked by VAR, even if Leicester could have claimed it should have been.

Youri Tielemans remained in a heap on the ground after a physical challenge from Christian Benteke but when the ball reached Eberechi Eze, Zaha timed his run to perfection, staying onside thanks to Caglar Soyuncu on the far side, to latch on to the through pass and shoot, first time and right-footed, through the hand of Kasper Schmeichel. It was his sixth goal in his last seven Premier League games against Leicester. They are his most giving top-flight opponents.

Thus the shape of the game was set: Leicester attacking, probing through their wing-backs, Ndidi getting forwards to assist Tielemans and James Maddison behind the front pair; Palace happy to get men behind the ball and play on the counterattack, with no little cohesion.

Soyuncu blasted over after Evans headed back Tielemans’ corner before what appeared a pivotal VAR call on the strike of half-time. Joel Ward charged high into Ndidi right on the 18-yard line and Graham Scott awaited the call from Stockley Park. It went Palace’s way.

Schmeichel had been shouting at the referee to “get a grip on the f****** game” on the field and was still chuntering away at Scott in the tunnel as the teams waited in the tunnel for the second half. Leicester came out pumped up, evidently ready to compete on a physical level, and within four minutes they had levelled the scoreline as well.

Tielemans played a cute ball into the right-hand channel for Iheanacho to run onto and hold up before the striker turned and played an intelligent short pass back for Castagne. The right wing-back shaped his body well and swerved a left-footed shot high into the far top corner.

Yet such was the topsy-turvy nature of the game, Palace could have been back in front within six minutes as they capitalised on Leicester’s high back line. Zaha cut back in from the left wing and played his pass with precise timing for Jairo Riedewald to run clean in on Schmeichel’s goal.

The midfielder rather gave his intentions away by glancing to his right as he ran into the penalty area to check he had a better-placed team-mate and although his square pass to Benteke took Schmeichel out of the equation, Evans hurled himself into a goal-saving tackle. – Guardian