Stoke 2-2 Leicester: Highlights and recap

Stoke and Leicester played out a controversial 2-2 draw at the Britannia on Saturday. Here are all the highlights from the match.

Stoke have had a strange season. They were in the relegation zone for the first few weeks, but have bounced back since then to establish their customary mid-table position. They held on for a 0-0 draw against Southampton midweek after Marko Arnautovic was sent off in the first half.

The Austrian’s three-match ban will be a big blow to the Potters, but with Xherdan Shaqiri, Joe Allen and Bojan Krkic — not to mention new signing Wilfried Bony, who has been relegated to the bench in recent weeks — they should be able to cope in his absence.

The Potters are hoping to finish in the top half of the league for the fourth season in a row, but will need to establish more consistency if they’re going to achieve that feat. In their last six matches, Stoke have two wins, two draws and two losses. Five of those matches came against very beatable teams, and while Mark Hughes’ side have been trending in the right direction since their awful, there’s still a sense that there’s a lot more for this squad to give.

Leicester have had a strange season of their own. Their win last weekend against Manchester City felt like a possible turning point in a title defense that was quickly becoming a relegation battle. But a midweek loss to Bournemouth brought the Foxes back down to earth.

They had their chances against Bournemouth, which will perhaps encourage manager Claudio Ranieri, but consistency will be the key. Jamie Vardy and Riyad Mahrez need to start contributing regularly, while the defense, so crucial to the title win last season, has likewise disappointed. Kasper Schmeichel could return from injury at the week, which would provide a boost at the back.

Recap

The first half was an open contest with both sides willing to commit numbers forward in attack. Leicester started to take control, testing Stoke keeper Lee Grant with a series of shots, but the game changed after Jamie Vardy was controversially sent off for a lunging tackle on Mame Biram Diouf. Stoke took the lead with a penalty shortly after, when Danny Simpson handled in the area. Bojan Krkic finished powerfully from the spot. Joe Allen added another for Stoke on the stroke of halftime, tapping in the rebound after Glen Johnson’s shot hit the post.

Leicester looked like they might succumb to ill-discipline in the second half, but fought well to get back into the game. The breakthrough eventually came through Leonardo Ulloa, who headed in a Demarai Gray cross. The Foxes gained confidence from there and eventually equalized through Daniel Amartey. It was an excellent fight back from a team whose chances in the match looked like they could have been totally undermined by some questionable refereeing.

Highlights

Next: Premier League Power Rankings

The draw moves stoke into 11th, level on points with Bournemouth and Southampton, who play each other Sunday. Leicester, meanwhile, move above Burnley into 13th place and within four points of the top half of the table.