Kelechi Iheanacho Shines As Leicester Overcomes Brighton
Nigerian international Kelechi Iheanacho was in inspired form as Leicester City came from behind to beat Brighton 2-1 at the Amex stadium.
Leicester made two changes from the 1-1 draw at Burnley as Mendy and Choudhury dropped to the bench, replaced by the returning Fofana and 19-year-old Sidnei Tavares, the Portuguese midfielder making his first Leicester start.
Brighton took the lead after 10 minutes as Neal Maupay outmuscled Tielemans and slipped the ball to Lallana, who calmly slotted the ball into the bottom left corner past Leicester goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel.
Lallana then nearly grabbed his second after a glancing header from Pascal Gross’ corner against the post, while Maupay thought he had doubled Brighton’s lead from Lallana’s clever flick. However, the assistant rightly flagged for offside.
Leicester began to find rhythm in the second half as Timothy Castagne’s through ball was slammed into the side-netting by Iheanacho. However, Brendan Rodgers’ side got their equaliser thanks to a world-class piece of creativity from Tielemans.
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Spotting the run of Iheanacho in behind Lewis Dunk, the Belgian gave Brighton defenders the eyes, threading a no-look pass from deep into his path in the box. The Nigerian international fired the ball into the net for his second goal in two games.
Later in the game, Leicester felt they should have had a penalty after Dunk fouled Jamie Vardy in the box, however, Michael Oliver and the VAR saw a touch from Dunk on the tackle.
Moments later, Brighton goalkeeper Sanchez came to punch Marc Albrighton’s cross but got caught under the ball, prompting Amartey to react quickly behind him, heading the ball into the empty net for only his second Premier League goal.
It was a much-needed win for Leicester in their quest for the top four, giving them a seven-point cushion ahead of Everton in fifth, although the Toffees have two games in hand. Brighton stay 16th, three points above the drop zone.
“Very important win, playing against a good side who are technically very good. First half we weren’t good enough, didn’t press well enough, square passing,” Leicester boss Brendan Rodgers said.
“We had to ask the question at half-time and in the second half we were brilliant. We stopped them playing, and then we showed our quality. By the end we deserved to win.”
Other Premier League results
Sheffield United 0-2 Southampton
Aston Villa 0-0 Wolverhampton Wanderers
Chidi Nwoke.
