Soccer News

10-man Leceister City beat Burnley

Wes Morgan scored a dramatic late winner for Leicester City, who beat relegation-threatened Burnley despite playing much of the game with 10 men.

The Foxes had Harry Maguire sent off within four minutes for bringing down Johann Berg Gudmundsson when he was clean through on goal.

Despite their one-man disadvantage, Leicester took the lead from a James Maddison free-kick after he was brought down by James Tarkowski, while Dwight McNeil levelled soon after.

But the visitors left it late and scored against the run of play when substitute Morgan headed home from Youri Tielemans’ cross.

The result means Burnley remain in 17th place in the Premier League and keep their two-point cushion over 18th-placed Cardiff City, but Sean Dyche’s side have played one game more than the Bluebirds.

Leicester, meanwhile, are in 10th place and have crossed the 40-point mark with seven games of the season remaining.

It looked to be a long afternoon for the visitors after Maguire’s early dismissal and Burnley looked more likely to find a winner in a wet and windy second half.

But it was Leicester who picked up the points in a stunning finale after Burnley failed to clear a last-ditch Foxes corner and an unmarked Tielemans was allowed to cross for Morgan’s winner.

Leicester City

An assured visiting performance

Since Brendan Rodgers was appointed by Leicester City on 26 February, they have won three out of four Premier League games, more than they had in their final eight games under Claude Puel.

However, when Maguire was sent off so soon into the game, it looked like it would be a tough task to seal another victory, this time away from home against a side who are battling to stay in the division.

Going into the game, Leicester had conceded more goals in the opening 15 minutes than any other side in the Premier League this season, so it looked likely that they might struggle. But Rodgers’ side remained composed.

A central midfield pairing of Maddison and Tielemans enabled them to press on the counter while a resolute backline kept the hosts pressed back despite the fact Burnley had 62% of possession.

It was yet another win for Rodgers against Burnley – he has now masterminded victories against the Clarets with four teams. And this was a stylish performance while under pressure.

Burnley’s slide continues

As the late season run-in approaches, this defeat could have deep implications for Sean Dyche’s side as they failed to exert pressure on relegation rivals Cardiff City and Southampton, who are not playing this weekend.

With the game finely poised in the second half, Burnley looked likely to add to McNeil’s first-half goal and were denied a penalty when Charlie Taylor appeared to have been brought down by Wilfried Ndidi.

Burnley have conceded nine goals after the 90th minute this season and their defensive frailties were shown again when Morgan headed in his dramatic late winner.

Not so long ago, Burnley went on an eight-game unbeaten run – their longest in the Premier League – but since beating Tottenham on 23 February they have lost four matches in a row.

In their next three games, the Clarets face Wolves, Bournemouth and Cardiff, and desperately need to pick up points to pull away from the relegation places, especially as they face a formidable final four matches against Chelsea, Manchester City, Everton and Arsenal.

Ultimately, they slipped to yet another defeat from a winnable game, as their alarming slide towards the relegation zone continued.

Source: BBC News