Leicester City 1-0 Ipswich Town in the championship
After a stoppage-time equaliser, Ipswich Town defeated Leicester City on Boxing Day to earn a point in their top-of-the-table match.
Stephy Mavididi’s curling effort put the Blues down, but they responded brilliantly and kept up the pressure to tie the score. It took until the 93rd minute for it to happen, as Sam Morsy deflected a shot from outside the area to tie the score at one, however Jannik Vestergaard was given credit for the own goal.
Using the space that Leicester’s setup left on the right, Ipswich dominated the first few minutes of play. Enzo Maresca arranged for his players to alternate between a back four and a back three, giving Wes Burns room to attack, with right-back Ricardo Pereira pushing into midfield.
He had two chances to cross into the box in the opening four minutes, although nobody could in the middle could convert, with his second delivery deflecting out for a corner.
In fact, they had three corners in the opening 15 minutes of the match, although the Foxes managed the danger incredibly well.
The mood soured soon after. George Hirst over-stretched as he tried to receive the ball, grasping his hamstring as he fell to the floor. The former Leicester striker tried to play on, but he fell as soon as he stepped back out onto the pitch. Kayden Jackson replaced him in the 23rd minute.
Things went from bad to worse soon after. The atmosphere understandably took a hit after Hirst’s injury and Town lost a bit of a momentum as a result. Patson Daka was able to pick out Mavididi in acres of space down the left, allowing him to cut inside and curl an impressive effort into the back of the net from the edge of the area in the 25th minute.
Against these top teams, there’s always a risk of one quickly becoming two, and the game spiralling out of control soon after. It happened to Ipswich at Elland Road over the weekend, but they didn’t let it happen against Leicester. They kept plugging away and tried to create chances, although individual errors almost saw them fall further behind each side of the half-hour mark.
The Blues had seven corners in the first half, and they made it eight just two minutes after the restart. Leif Davis’ delivery landed on the head of Cameron Burgess, but the best he could do was to head over the bar from close range.
