Leicester dent Brighton's European hopes
Brighton & Hove Albion 2 - 2 Leicester City
Caleb Okoli was the hero for relegation-threatened Leicester City as his second-half header helped end the Foxes’ eight-match losing run and dented Brighton’s ambitions of European football next season.
Starting in place of the injured Wout Faes, Okoli powered in a diving header from Bilal El Khannouss’ pinpoint free-kick, earning a valuable draw for Ruud van Nistelrooy’s side.
Earlier, Stephy Mavididi had brought Leicester level in the first half, ending the team’s long goal drought, after Joao Pedro had given Brighton a deserved lead from the penalty spot.
Despite the battling draw, Leicester remain second from bottom in the Premier League, still 14 points adrift of safety with just six games to play.
Brighton had taken the lead just after the half-hour mark when Simon Adingra’s effort struck the arm of Conor Coady, prompting a VAR review and a penalty, which Pedro calmly dispatched.
Adingra almost doubled the lead shortly after, rattling the crossbar, but Leicester responded immediately. Mavididi seized on a loose ball following a rare mistake by Lewis Dunk and slotted past Bart Verbruggen, ending Leicester’s run of 885 minutes without a league goal.
Matt O’Riley struck the woodwork as Brighton looked to regain control, but the momentum shifted towards Leicester. Verbruggen was called into action again, palming away a header from Kasey McAteer before half-time.
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The Seagulls restored their advantage early in the second half when Luke Thomas was penalised for tugging O'Riley’s shirt in the box. Pedro stepped up once more and confidently rifled his second penalty into the top corner, giving Mads Hermansen no chance.
Yet Leicester refused to go quietly. Patson Daka was denied by Verbruggen, but the equaliser finally arrived when Okoli turned in El Khannouss’ set-piece with a thumping header.
The Foxes nearly snatched all three points late on when El Khannouss curled a shot goalwards, only to see it come back off the woodwork.
Brighton are now winless in three and drop to ninth in the table, seven points off the top four.
How this result might impact Brighton
Brighton were on course to secure a place in Europe for only the second time, but a drop in form in recent weeks has hurt their chances.
Fabian Hürzeler’s men came into this match off the back of defeats to Aston Villa and Crystal Palace. Despite a bright start, they were unable to return to winning ways.
Without suspended defender Jan Paul van Hecke and the injured Kaoru Mitoma, Brighton turned to Simon Adingra, making just his second start since mid-January. The Ivorian looked sharp early on and won his side a penalty when his strike from Pervis Estupiñán’s cross struck Coady on the arm.
Pedro converted from the spot and repeated the feat in the second half, but Brighton’s defensive vulnerabilities resurfaced as they failed to see out the game. It is a pattern that has become all too familiar in recent weeks.
