Leicester player ratings vs Brighton: 9/10 star repays faith but 5/10 duo disappoint
Leicester City produced one of their best performances of the season as they came from behind twice to draw 2-2 with Brighton & Hove Albion.
The Foxes were on the back foot for large portions of the first half and Brighton’s dominance resulted in them being awarded a penalty after Conor Coady was adjudged to have handled the ball – with replays showing it clearly struck his arm.
Despite Mads Hermansen’s best attempts to put off Joao Pedro it was no use as the Brazilian forward put the hosts in front from 12 yards after sending the Danish ‘keeper the wrong way.
Stephy Mavididi then ended Leicester’s 76-day wait to score a goal after he equalised in the first half but their hard work was undone less than 10 minutes into the second half as Luke Thomas’ foul on Matt O’Riley in the box and sent Hermansen the wrong way again.
Leicester normally fold under pressure at this point but they didn’t give up and got their reward as Caleb Okoli headed home from a free-kick with 15 minutes to go.
As the clock ticked down it looked as if the Foxes would be the side to go on and get the win but Ruud van Nistelrooy’s side couldn’t find the winner.
There’s still a long way to go and a draw isn’t going to do much in terms of closing the gap to Wolverhampton Wanderers, but it is a much-improved performance in comparison to recent weeks.
With that, here’s how Leicester City News rated the players vs Brighton.
Leicester player ratings vs Brighton
Mads Hermansen – 6
Not his fault for either penalty but will be disappointed with going the wrong way both times.
James Justin – 6
Looked like he was playing the inverted full-back role Enzo Maresca advised Van Nistelrooy to use with Ricardo Pereira. Didn’t look comfortable in it and was caught out of position a number of times.
Conor Coady – 5
Gave away the penalty and will be bitterly disappointed with the manner of it. Was rightly booked for it and looked shaky at stages.
Caleb Okoli – 6
Brought back into the side and looked comfortable at the back. Scored his first goal for the club with a delightful header after being given far too much space.
Luke Thomas – 6
Combined well with Mavididi on the left-hand side and has been a bright spark in an otherwise disappointing season. Gave away the second penalty of the afternoon though and you can’t be doing that. Brought off for Pereira.
Wilfred Ndidi – 6
Was okay in patches. Really struggles with receiving the ball from Hermansen when he has an opposition player behind him. Was subbed for Oliver Skipp.
Boubakary Soumare – 6
Didn’t really have any impact on the game and somehow stayed on the pitch longer than expected.
Kasey McAteer – 6
Given a chance in the starting XI but was pretty quiet. Leicester’s tactics did seem to favour the ball going out to the left side, however.
Bilal El Khannouss – 8
Very close to giving him a nine but the early yellow card meant he had to duck out of some challenges. Caused havoc on the left and helped to bring the best out of Mavididi. Also grabbed an assist for the second equaliser.
Stephy Mavididi – 9
Was electric all afternoon for the Foxes. Had the beating of his full-back at the Amex Stadium and linked up brilliantly with Bilal El Khannouss. Deserved his goal and will start next week.
Jamie Vardy (C) – 5
Barely had a sniff of the ball and didn’t seem to be involved in any action apart from pulling McAteer away and diffusing a potential altercation.
Leicester substitute ratings
Patson Daka (sub) – 6
Ricardo Pereira (sub) – 6
Oliver Skipp (sub) – 6
Bobby De Cordova-Reid (sub) – N/A
Jake Evans (sub) – N/A
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