Leicester City was unable to ease the pressure on manager Brendan Rodgers as they were held to a frustrating goalless draw by Crystal Palace at King Power Stadium.
The Foxes had their moments but struggled to find impetus and remain in the bottom three, with the 4-0 win over bottom club Nottingham Forest two weeks ago appearing false dawn.
It felt like a day when the first goal would be crucial and Leicester’s nerves were evident from the start as Palace exerted early pressure.
But the home side sprung into life when Harvey Barnes and Patson Daka combined to unlock the Palace defence before Daka forced Vicente Guaita into a smart save.
Palace lacked zip in attack as the first half developed, but showed a spark through Eberechi Eze, who flashed a shot over from the edge of the box with the break looming.
In the second half, it was telling that James Maddison was seeing more of the ball, but he twice missed the target before the hour, shooting over from close range and then wide after driving forward.
As time ticked on, very little changed. Neither side was able to force the issue, despite the introduction of Jamie Vardy and Kelechi Iheanacho. This game was there for Leicester’s taking, but confidence eluded them.
The stop-start nature of the game spoke volumes for both sides in different ways.
Palace was looking to frustrate first and do their damage on the counter-attack through Wilfried Zaha’s pace; they weren’t overly successful, but it pointed to deeper issues for Leicester.
Nervous energy filled the stadium and, given that the Foxes had lost seven out of their previous nine league games, that was understandable.
But it meant Leicester only attacked in spurts, with flashes from Barnes, Daka and Maddison, but never really enough to build momentum and win the game. Wout Faes, their only major summer signing, was their standout player at the back.
This was another long afternoon in what is becoming a long season for Rodgers’ side, summed up by the talismanic Maddison picking up a booking for simulation that will keep him out of Thursday’s match with Leeds.
Being substituted inside the last 15 minutes with the game still on a knife edge epitomised Zaha’s day.
There were moments for the visitors, with Eze particularly busy in midfield, but they couldn’t find the killer pass to make the difference when they had the chance.
Zaha cut a frustrated figure on an afternoon he’ll have come into hoping to have a decisive impact.
This is Palace’s second successive goalless draw on the road, and they didn’t do enough to gain all three points again.
source – BBC Sport
