NBC on Yahoo SportsLiverpool 2-2 Leicester City: 2 goals in 3 minutes sees Foxes swipe a point
Leicester City may have felt hard done by in the first half after Steven Gerrard bagged a pair of debatable penalties to put Liverpool 2-0 up at Anfield, but a storming start to the second half made amends.
David Nugent scored a stunning one-timer and Jeffery Schlupp piggybacked on that with one of his own just three minutes later as Leicester City roared back to draw the Reds and come ever closer to pulling themselves off the bottom of the table.
Riyad Mahrez slammed the post just over a minute into the game, with a free-kick wrong-footing Simon Mignolet and only kept out by the woodwork. He had yet another chance as the clock hit 12 minute gone by, but the cross from Jeffrey Schlupp was just a hair behind Mahrez and he couldn’t get a solid shot on net.
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With Leicester clearly in the ascendency over the first 15 minutes, they were done in by a horrific refereeing decision. Raheem Sterling broke down the left edge of the box, and he sent in a cross which was blocked by the face of a sliding Wes Morgan. However referee Mike Jones gave Liverpool a penalty for handball, and while Morgan’s arms were out during his sliding action, the ball clearly caromed off his face and not his arms.
Gerrard bagged the penalty with ease despite Hamer choosing correctly, and Liverpool went 1-0 up thanks to the decision. Despite the goal, Leicester continued to boss the game and create chances, but failed to put any of them away. In-form Adam Lallana nearly got himself another goal despite on the half-hour mark fumbling a cross at the top of the box, but his recovery shot scuffed just wide of the post.
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Liverpool picked up a second on exactly the same thing, as Danny Simpson handled a cross from Coutinho, and this time the decision seemed a little more straightforward as Simpson’s hand was out in an unnatural position. Gerrard slammed home the penalty for his second and Liverpool’s 2-0 lead five minutes before the break.
After halftime, a dark mark came over the advantage for Liverpool as Adam Lallana was forced off with an injury, an unfortunate turn given his current form. But then it would all come crashing down for Liverpool in the game as well.
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Two Leicester goals in three minutes brought the Foxes instantly on level terms, with both goals dutifully earned. David Nugent, a first-half substitute for Danny Drinkwater, ripped a one-time shot with the outside of his foot to bring Leicester one back just before the hour mark, and two minutes later it was Jeffery Schlupp who powered home into the bottom right corner past Mignolet who reacted much too late.
It was a deserved pair for the visitors, who had stormed out of the halftime gates and canceled out the two harsh penalties. As the game progressed towards the final whistle, it exploded to life even further with both teams looking for a vital three points. Liverpool had a shout for a third penalty, but Mike Jones shook his head as Borini went down under a slight shove from Brown. Lazar Markovic then missed wide with a header from a good distance away.
LINEUPS:
Liverpool: Mignolet, Can, Toure, Sakho, Moreno (Lambert 85′), Gerrard, Lucas (Markovic 72′), Henderson, Coutinho, Lallana (Borini 55′), Sterling.
Goals: Gerrard (pen) 17′, (pen) 40′
Leicester City: Hamer, De Laet, Drinkwater (Nugent 37′), Morgan, Hammond (Cambiasso 67′), James, Vardy (Ulloa 75′), Schlupp, Simpson, Mahrez, Wasilewski.
Goals: Nugent 58′, Schlupp 60′
