Leicester City vs Burnley. Premier League.
The King Power StadiumAttendance31,650.
Match report and free highlights as the Foxes come from behind twice; Maxwel Cornet scored on his first Premier League start for Burnley but limped off; Chris Wood was dramatically denied a stoppage-time winner by VAR for a tight but correct offside
Thursday 30 September 2021 16:43, UK
Jamie Vardy scored twice to atone for his own goal and salvage a 2-2 draw against Burnley at the King Power Stadium.
Vardy flicked a header into his own net from an inswinging Ashley Westwood corner, but made amends at the other end, firing Youri Tielemans' through ball past Nick Pope from the edge of the box.
New signing Maxwel Cornet quickly restored the Burnley lead, volleying home confidently from Matej Vydra's floated centre, before limping off with what looked like a hamstring injury.
With five minutes left, Vardy rounded Nick Pope and slid the ball in to an empty net.
Former Leicester striker Chris Wood thought he had the final say, heading in with almost the last touch of the game - but VAR disallowed it for a tight but correct offside.
Both sides started well, with every player brought in for this match making a quick impact. Leicester's Ademola Lookman, in for the dropped James Maddison, fizzed a low cross to Harvey Barnes, but with his shot goalbound, Matt Lowton made a superb sliding block.
The recalled Vydra, buzzing around up front for Burnley, drew a yellow card from Yannik Vestergaard and Cornet, on his first Premier League start, was lively and inventive in possession.
Around 10 minutes in, Ivory Coast international Cornet played a cute one-two with Westwood, winning a corner. Westwood sent in a wicked inswinger and Vardy, feeling he had to get something on it, could only flick his near-post header past helpless team-mate Kasper Schmeichel.
After another fantastic block from Lowton prevented Vardy equalising from Ricardo Pereira's cross, he cancelled out his own goal, running onto a slide-rule Tielemans pass and angling the ball back across Pope after referee Chris Kavanagh played a clever advantage.
Just three minutes later the visitors had the lead again. Vydra held off giant Foxes centre-half Vestergaard and stood up a curling cross to the back post. Cornet swung with his weaker right foot and made a sweet connection, thumping it past Schmeichel.
The pair clashed at the end of the half, with the 24-year-old booked for wasting time, coming back on to the pitch to be treated by the physios as Leicester looked to play on, drawing a furious, finger-jabbing reaction from the Foxes captain.
In the second half, clear-cut chances were at a premium, with Leicester making several attacking substitutions to open up a resolute Burnley defence, who were throwing themselves in front of every shot as if their lives depended on it.
As time ticked away, with the visitors determined to prolong every pause in play, it appeared Leicester would dominate but not find the breakthrough. The razor-sharp Vardy put paid to that.
He raced onto Kelechi Iheanacho's through ball, rounded Pope with a deft touch of his right foot, and rolled it into an empty net with devastating pinpoint accuracy on his left.
There was still time for a dramatic late VAR intervention, Wood nodding past Schmeichel after two flick-ons and celebrating in front of the fans of his former club, but the lines were drawn and the New Zealander was denied a stoppage-time winner.
Both sides wanted and could have had three points - but both will have to make do with one.
● Since their return to the Premier League in 2014-15, Leicester have scored 14 own goals, with only Tottenham putting through their own net more often in that time (15).
● Jamie Vardy scored his first own goal for Leicester in his 360th appearance for the club in all competitions, with the striker the first player ever to both score at both ends for the Foxes in the Premier League.
● Côte d'Ivoire forward Maxwel Cornet is the 42nd different player to score for Burnley in the Premier League (excl. own-goals) and the second African to do so after André Bikey (Cameroon).
● Jamie Vardy is just the fifth player in Premier League history to score an own-goal and 2+ goals in the same game, after John Barnes (Liverpool v Spurs 1995), Niall Quinn (Sunderland v Charlton 2001), Wayne Rooney (Man Utd v Stoke 2012) and Tammy Abraham (Chelsea v Wolves 2019).
The 34-year-old is showing no signs of slowing down, despite his age. Conventional wisdom would tell you strikers lose their pace, acceleration, and goalscoring touch well before that point. But Vardy is an exception to that rule.
Seemingly ageless, he has the boundless energy and acceleration of a man ten years younger.
He has been directly involved in eight goals in his last seven league games (seven goals, one assist), a total of 89 per cent of Leicester's goals in that time. Move over, Iheanacho and Patson Daka, there's an old kid on the block.
Leicester manager Brendan Rodgers: "We created a lot of chances. They defended the box really well, got some blocks in. We had enough pressure and we arrived in some really good areas so I'm pleased.
"We need to do better defensively, there's no doubt. We haven't found the balance right again. But from being behind twice, it's great spirit by the players.
"We're not at our level [after summer recruitment]. When players are starting to gel together and the team synchronises a little bit more the results will become more consistent and I'm pretty sure that will come in time."
Burnley manager Sean Dyche: 'I'm frustrated at their two goals because the rest of the performance was very good. I'm frustrated by them because we know Jamie Vardy's game and our defensive unit know his game and he's done what he's done twice.
"Second one, there's a foul on Johann Gudmundsson, I don't know how it's not given. It's not given and 30 seconds later, despite us being able to do better, it's in our net."
Leicester travel to Legia Warsaw in the Europa League on Thursday before a Premier League game against Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park on Sunday.
Meanwhile, Burnley host bottom side Norwich at Turf Moor on Saturday.
