Leicester 2 – 2 Brighton

Jamie Vardy inspired Leicester to a late comeback as they came from behind to draw 2-2 against Brighton and Hove Albion.

Ruud van Nistelrooy’s side fought back to maintain their unbeaten start as Leicester manager and move five points clear of the bottom three.

The Seagulls suffered their second disappointment of the week, having already lost to Fulham, and now need to get back to winning ways against their rivals Crystal Palace. Live on Sky Sportsnext Sunday.

A wasteful first-half finish from Brighton – after Joao Pedro and Kaoru Mitoma both missed their chances – was made up for by Tariq Lamptey’s stunning attempt to open the scoring just before half-time.

The defender collected the ball outside the penalty area, cut it off with his weaker left foot and rolled it into the top corner, leaving Mads Hermansen helpless.

It was only the new coach’s second-half team talk since Steve Cooper took over – but he seemed to provoke a reaction from his players.

The hosts played more determinedly after the restart. Vardy saw a well-crafted move end in a blocked shot and later went close with a header.

The home side’s hopes of escaping with a result were dampened when Minteh climbed off the bench, charged towards goal and fired Brighton’s second shot into the bottom corner, but Leicester responded immediately.

Vardy started the impressive comeback with a fine finish at the back post before passing the ball to Bobby De Cordova-Reid, who smashed the ball into the goal and completed the stunning late turnaround in just six minutes.

Sunday, December 15th, 1:00 p.m

Kick-off is at 2:00 p.m

Van Nistelrooy finds a way

Patrick Rowe from Sky Sports:

It’s only two games in and the change of a new manager is always a factor – but Van Nistelrooy appears to be making an impact at Leicester.

The Foxes lacked stamina in the first half, but after the restart they showed a different team, which would indicate a positive reaction to the team meeting.

Conceding again was a big blow, but the reaction was immense. Encouraged by Vardy continuing to defy his age, Leicester fought back and found a way to go two games unbeaten under the new manager.

With Ipswich losing late, the gap to the bottom three is now just four points and such pressure off the new manager’s shoulders could be huge in the early stages of his time here.

It’s still early, but the signs are promising. The best way to endear yourself to fans is to get results and Van Nistelrooy continued to do that today – but the away game at Newcastle will be his biggest test yet.

More to come…

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