Leeds 1-1 Leicester: Harvey Barnes' strike cancels out Raphinha's opener

Match report as Leeds were held to a 1-1 draw by Leicester at Elland Road; Raphinha's free-kick opened the scoring for Leeds; Leicester hit back 73 seconds later through Harvey Barnes' strike; point sees Leeds move up to 15th, while Leicester stay 12th

Sunday 7 November 2021 17:22, UK

Harvey Barnes' strike cancelled out Raphinha's opener as Leicester frustrated Leeds to secure a 1-1 draw at Elland Road.

The hosts broke the deadlock in the 26th minute through Raphinha's free-kick, but Leicester hit back almost immediately as Barnes curled in a superb equaliser just 73 seconds later.

Leeds dominated much of the second half, creating a number of openings, but it was Leicester who thought they were going to snatch all three points when Ademola Lookman tapped home from close range.

However, the 'goal' was ruled out by VAR after an extremely tight offside call as both sides had to settle for a draw.

The point sees Leeds move up to 15th in the Premier League table, while Leicester, who are without a win in three games in all competitions, stay 12th.

Leeds and Leicester forced to share the spoils...

In a frantic opening to the game, Barnes was the first to threaten for Leicester, but his strike was easily gathered by Illan Meslier, while, at the other end, Jack Harrison's curling shot was tipped away by the diving Kasper Schmeichel.

Schmeichel was back into the action moments later, producing a point-blank save to keep out Kalvin Phillips' header from Raphinha's corner and referee Darren England was unmoved when the Brazilian winger went tumbling under Ricardo Pereira's challenge.

However, Raphinha was not to be denied midway through the first half when he curled Leeds into a deserved lead, his free-kick finding its way past Schmeichel and into the far corner.

However, the home side's advantage was short-lived.

Straight from the restart, Leicester needed just five touches before Barnes cut inside from the left and curled a brilliant equaliser beyond Meslier into the top corner.

Youri Tielemans flashed a shot wide after the restart, but Leeds were soon back on the offensive.

Caglar Soyuncu headed inches wide of his own post before Harrison somehow managed to miss an open goal at the far post following Phillips' flick-on.

Dan James then fired another effort narrowly wide, and Rodrigo miscued a volley at the far post as Leeds continued to push forward in search of a winner.

Team news

Adam Forshaw made his first Premier League start for Leeds. Forshaw, who missed the whole of last season due to a hip problem, replaced Jamie Shackleton and was Marcelo Bielsa's only change from the side which started in last week's win at Norwich.
Leicester boss Brendan Rodgers made five changes following his side's midweek home draw against Spartak Moscow in the Europa League. Jamie Vardy, Harvey Barnes and Wilfred Ndidi were among those returning for the Foxes.

However, Leeds were so nearly made to pay for their wastefulness in front of goal when Lookman's far-post effort was ruled out for offside by VAR.

James then spurned another scoring chance before Leicester defender Soyuncu dragged his effort wide as the frantic nature of the game continued

Wilfred Ndidi scuffed his shot as Leicester still threatened to snatch all three points in the closing stages before Leeds' hopes of victory ended when Raphinha's thumping drive whistled over.

What the managers said...

Leeds boss Marcelo Bielsa: "We created double the amount of danger than them. We dominated a large part of the game. We defended well and we attacked well. And even if we deserved to win, we didn't manage to obtain it.

"We managed a good performance against a good opponent.

"Football has those moments, there was two identical plays. They had one goal ruled out the same way but we couldn't finish our chance [when Jack Harrison missed from close out]."

Leicester boss Brendan Rodgers: "For us to put that effort in and show the courage to keep going, we created some great chances but failed to make the final pass and finishes. The supporters will go home proud of the team.

"We showed a great mentality, going behind and Harvey scored a brilliant goal. We were unfortunate with the goal disallowed. We had a good few moments in the right areas."

Opta stats: Leeds continue good Elland Road record...

Leeds have only lost two of their last 12 games at Elland Road in the Premier League (W4 D6), and are now unbeaten in their last three on home soil (W1 D2).

Leicester haven't kept a clean sheet in any of their last 10 games in the Premier League, their longest run without one in the competition since March 2019. They have, however, scored in each of their last 13 away Premier League matches; their longest run in the top flight since between April and December 1960 (13).

Leeds have drawn five of their 11 games in the Premier League this season (W2 D5 L4), already as many as they did in the whole of last season in the competition.

There were just 73 seconds between Leeds opening the scoring and Leicester equalising through Harvey Barnes' strike. It was the Leicester winger's first goal in the Premier League since February (v Aston Villa), ending a run of nine appearances in the competition without scoring.

Raphinha has scored 45 per cent of Leeds' goals in the Premier League this season (5/11); the highest percentage for a player whose team have scored 10+ times in the competition in 2021-22.

Four of Raphinha's five goals for Leeds in the Premier League this season have been the opening goal of the game - indeed, no player has opened the scoring on more occasions than the Brazilian this term (4).