Premier League round-up: Leicester come from behind twice in Southampton draw

Leicester 2 Southampton 2

James Maddison scored for the third successive game as Leicester twice came from behind to salvage a 2-2 Premier League draw at Southampton.

In-form Maddison conjured a moment of magic early in the second period but the Foxes squandered golden chances to complete a comeback success on the south coast.

Jamie Vardy blazed over when through on goal, while Harvey Barnes was denied by a fine save from home goalkeeper Alex McCarthy.

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Defender Jonny Evans had initially fired the visitors level, in between first-half goals from Saints duo Jan Bednarek and Che Adams.

A point at St Mary’s was sufficient to move to eighth but left them with just one win from five as their inconsistent form continued.

Southampton, meanwhile, hold a five-point buffer on the relegation zone after scoring more than once in a top-flight fixture for only the third time this campaign.

Tella and James Ward-Prowse worked a short corner on the left and, after Foxes keeper Kasper Schmeichel saved Mohammed Salisu’s initial effort, Bednarek scuffed the rebound into the bottom right corner.

Leicester were not behind for long and their 22nd-minute equaliser had hallmarks of the opener.

This time Saints keeper McCarthy could not keep hold of a stinging shot from Wilfred Ndidi following good wing play from Maddison and Evans thumped home the loose ball. The emphatic finish was the defender’s first goal since equalising in a 1-1 draw here in April.

Southampton regained the lead 11 minutes before the break, benefiting from some incredibly slack Leicester defending.

Following a partially-cleared corner, Redmond was given time to pick out a cross from the right and the unmarked Adams sent a diving header into the far corner from just outside the six-yard box.

After a bad Southampton miss, Maddison collected the ball from Luke Thomas inside Southampton’s crowded 18-yard box and expertly cut inside the sliding Tino Livramento before lashing past McCarthy at the near post.

Leicester should probably have gone on to take all three points but were denied by a combination of exceptional goalkeeping and uncharacteristic profligacy.

Firstly, McCarthy somehow kept his side level by superbly tipping wide from Barnes in the 71st minute, although a possible handball in the build up may have ruled it out anyway.

Vardy should then have won it with 15 minutes to go. The Foxes talisman was sent clear after a Walker-Peters back pass clipped team-mate Salisu but, with most inside the ground waiting for the net to bulge, the former England man smashed over.

Wolves 0 Burnley 0

Burnley maintained their impressive record against Wolves with a 0-0 draw that made it six unbeaten versus the West Midlands side for Sean Dyche.

It was the first time that Dyche’s side had played since their thrilling 3-3 draw with Crystal Palace last month after Storm Arwen postponed the Clarets’ clash with Tottenham last Sunday.

Although a point will not please Dyche too much, his side are proving tough to beat as they have only lost one from their last eight Premier League games.

Only the top three teams in the league had conceded fewer than Wolves coming into their fixture with Burnley and that continued as they kept their third clean sheet in a row.

But Bruno Lage’s men need to direct their training efforts to the other end of the pitch as their goal drought continued. Wolves have managed just one goal in their last four games.

The most danger Wolves caused Burnley came on the half-hour mark as Adama Traore led a counter-attack with his renowned pace.

Raul Jimenez joined him and created a two-on-one situation where the two Wolves forwards were running at Charlie Taylor. Taylor forced Traore wide and the Spanish forward struck from distance which rocketed off the bar and Nathan Collins cleared.

It was the type of match that Wolves could have benefitted from Ruben Neves’ creativity, but he served his one-match ban.

Traore used his lightning pace again with a direct run past four Burnley men. His deep cross was a stretch for Jimenez and Nick Pope collected with ease.

That did spark Lage to gee up the Molineux crowd and Hwang Hee-chan nearly rewarded them for their support but his low-driven shot was deflected wide.

Burnley’s first attempt at target was Dwight McNeil’s guided effort which forced Jose Sa to turn around the post and out for a corner.

Jay Rodriguez audaciously attempted to chip Sa from outside the box in injury time but it was well over the bar.

Dyche’s side remain in the bottom three but do have a game in hand, whereas Wolves missed an opportunity to go fifth.

West Ham 1 Brighton 1

Neal Maupay’s spectacular late equaliser ensured West Ham’s Brighton hoodoo struck again in a 1-1 draw at the London Stadium.

Maupay’s overhead kick a minute from time means West Ham are still waiting for a first Premier League win over the Seagulls after nine attempts.

The Hammers looked to have finally beaten their bogey team as they led through Tomas Soucek’s first-half header.

But Brighton had other ideas and finally put one of their chances away to deny the hosts victory yet again.

This had the feel of a big match in the context of West Ham’s lofty aspirations this season, having clung on to fourth place despite successive defeats on the road against Wolves and Manchester City — and with leaders Chelsea the visitors on Saturday.

Alarm bells may have started to ring had Brighton taken the lead inside two minutes, but Maupay fired across goal and wide from close range after a defensive mix-up allowed Yves Bissouma to stroll into the penalty area.

Instead, West Ham went ahead in the fifth minute through a familiar routine.

Seagulls boss Graham Potter admitted beforehand that he was wary of West Ham’s threat from set-pieces, yet from the first corner of the match Pablo Fornals crossed to the near post where Soucek was allowed to leap unchallenged and glance the ball into the net.

It was almost two when Michail Antonio headed Vladimir Coufal’s cross back across goal to Fornals, whose volley crashed against the underside of the crossbar.

Brighton’s cause was not helped by losing two players, Jeremy Sarmiento and Adam Webster, to injury in the first half.

But one of their substitutes, Solly March, almost created an equaliser when he played in Maupay, who in turn fed Jakub Moder in front of goal, but his shot was well saved by fellow Pole Lukasz Fabianski.

The problem in the first half was as stark as it had been in the 0-0 draw against Leeds on Saturday, when they were booed by some of their own fans — Brighton simply could not find the net.

After the break March had a cross deflected over and Lewis Dunk headed the corner straight at Fabianski, before West Ham were denied a second by a lengthy VAR check.

It looked like a job for cricket’s snickometer to prove for certain whether the ball had brushed the ankle of the offside Antonio as it was bundled in from a corner, but the goal was eventually chalked off.

Jarrod Bowen squandered a chance to kill Brighton off when his shot rolled past the far post and late Robert Sanchez saves kept Declan Rice and Antonio at bay.

They were to prove costly as the clock ticked down and Brighton sub Tariq Lamptey stood up a cross which Maupay expertly hooked home to frustrate the Hammers yet again.