London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Thursday, Jan 08, 2026

Leicester & Everton remain in trouble after chaotic draw

Leicester & Everton remain in trouble after chaotic draw

Leicester City and Everton had to settle for a draw in a chaotic match which leaves both in deep trouble at the wrong end of the Premier League table.

The two clubs started the game in the bottom three but a point was enough to drag Leicester out of the drop zone on goal difference, while Everton stay 19th, one point behind 17th-placed Leeds.

Dominic Calvert-Lewin opened the scoring with just his second goal of the season from the penalty spot, picking himself up to convert after being bundled over by Timothy Castagne.

The lead lasted just seven minutes as the hosts equalised through Caglar Soyuncu, who rolled home a cool finish from Wout Faes' knockdown.

And Leicester turned the game around after 33 minutes as the sprightly Jamie Vardy latched on to James Maddison's through ball before rounding Jordan Pickford and stroking home.

The Toffees should have levelled before half-time but Calvert-Lewin contrived to miss an open goal from a couple of yards with the ball appearing to strike his heel, before Leicester broke down the other end and Vardy struck the crossbar.

There was still time in a breathless first half for Pickford to save Maddison's penalty, which was struck straight down the middle by the England midfielder.

It proved costly as the visitors drew level nine minutes after the restart when Alex Iwobi guided in a low finish, but neither side were able to find a winner.

Everton, meanwhile, will also be concerned by a serious-looking injury to captain Seamus Coleman, sustained in the opening period following a collision with Boubakary Soumare.


Leicester fail to hold on


The game ebbed and flowed between two sides aiming for top-flight survival but was a missed opportunity in their aim to escape the relegation mire.

An electric atmosphere was generated at King Power Stadium by both the home fans with their 'clappers' and the away supporters through their vociferous backing.

Ultimately, Maddison's penalty miss at the end of the first half turned out to be the crucial moment - the playmaker was made to wait to take the spot-kick before fluffing his effort straight at Pickford.

It would have put Leicester 3-1 up and possibly out of sight, but Sean Dyche's men clawed out a draw courtesy of Iwobi's well-taken strike on 54 minutes.

Midfielder Maddison was heavily involved throughout the game as well as the miss from 12 yards, and saw a low drive and curling effort kept out by his England team-mate.

The home side recovered from Calvert-Lewin's 15th-minute penalty to turn the game around as defender Soyuncu levelled and Vardy rolled back the years with a vintage finish.

But Leicester's issues lie in defence where a porous backline have now failed to keep a clean sheet in their past 19 games, dating back to November.

They also missed the opportunity to collect back-to-back victories at home for the first time in a year and bear all the hallmarks of a relegation-threatened team.

Despite being on a three-game unbeaten run, the Foxes have won just one of their past 12, picking up only six points in the process.

Leicester have four games remaining to preserve their top-flight status, away at Fulham and Newcastle and home games against Liverpool and West Ham on the last day of the season.


Where will Everton's next point come?


Like their opponents, Everton are stuck in a rut. Despite a bright start the Toffees have now won just one of their past 11 games under Dyche, and the eight points gained on that run have not been enough to drag them out of trouble.

This was a significant chance to get back to winning ways and it started well through Calvert-Lewin's thumping penalty, but it is difficult to see where the points might come in their remaining games.

They travel to impressive Brighton in their next match, before hosting league leaders Manchester City and rounding off their season at Goodison Park against in-form Bournemouth.

In between, they face a trip to Wolves - but that too is a tough ask for a side winless in their past 15 on the road and victors in just two of 34 away league games.

The league's lowest scorers managed to bag two this time, and Dyche will be satisfied to rescue a point, but it could have been so much better with more clinical finishing.

Daniel Iversen made a stunning reflex save to deny Iwobi early in the first half, and the Danish goalkeeper also kept out efforts including Calvert-Lewin's shocking miss and Dwight McNeil's strike from eight yards out.

But he saved his best until late when Everton pushed for the winner and Abdoulaye Doucoure strode forward before unleashing an arrowed low drive which Iversen turned round the post at full stretch.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
UK Data Watchdog Probes Elon Musk’s X Over AI-Generated Grok Images Amid Surge in Non-Consensual Outputs
Prince Harry to Return to UK for Court Hearing Without Plans to Meet King Charles III
UK Confirms Support for US Seizure of Russian-Flagged Oil Tanker in North Atlantic
Béla Tarr, Visionary Hungarian Filmmaker, Dies at Seventy After Long Illness
UK and France Pledge Military Hubs Across Ukraine in Post-Ceasefire Security Plan
Prince Harry Poised to Regain UK Security Cover, Clearing Way for Family Visits
UK Junk Food Advertising Ban Faces Major Loophole Allowing Brand-Only Promotions
Maduro’s Arrest Without The Hague Tests International Law—and Trump’s Willingness to Break It
German Intelligence Secretly Intercepted Obama’s Air Force One Communications
The U.S. State Department’s account in Persian: “President Trump is a man of action. If you didn’t know it until now, now you do—do not play games with President Trump.”
Fake Mainstream Media Double Standard: Elon Musk Versus Mamdani
HSBC Leads 2026 Mortgage Rate Cuts as UK Lending Costs Ease
US Joint Chiefs Chairman Outlines How Operation Absolute Resolve Was Carried Out in Venezuela
Starmer Welcomes End of Maduro Era While Stressing International Law and UK Non-Involvement
Korean Beauty Turns Viral Skincare Into a Global Export Engine
UK Confirms Non-Involvement in U.S. Military Action Against Venezuela
UK Terror Watchdog Calls for Australian-Style Social Media Ban to Protect Teenagers
Iranian Protests Intensify as Another Revolutionary Guard Member Is Killed and Khamenei Blames the West
Delta Force Identified as Unit Behind U.S. Operation That Captured Venezuela’s President
Europe’s Luxury Sanctions Punish Russian Consumers While a Sanctions-Circumvention Industry Thrives
Berkshire’s Buffett-to-Abel Transition Tests Whether a One-Man Trust Model Can Survive as a System
Fraud in European Central Bank: Lagarde’s Hidden Pay Premium Exposes a Transparency Crisis at the European Central Bank
Trump Announces U.S. Large-Scale Strike on Venezuela, Declares President Maduro and Wife Captured
Tesla Loses EV Crown to China’s BYD After Annual Deliveries Decline in 2025
UK Manufacturing Growth Reaches 15-Month Peak as Output and Orders Improve in December
Beijing Threatened to Scrap UK–China Trade Talks After British Minister’s Taiwan Visit
Newly Released Files Reveal Tony Blair Pressured Officials Over Iraq Death Case Involving UK Soldiers
Top Stocks and Themes to Watch in 2026 as Markets Enter New Year with Fresh Momentum
No UK Curfew Ordered as Deepfake TikTok Falsely Attributes Decree to Prime Minister Starmer
Europe’s Largest Defence Groups Set to Return Nearly Five Billion Dollars to Shareholders in Twenty Twenty-Five
Abu Dhabi ‘Capital of Capital’: How Abu Dhabi Rose as a Sovereign Wealth Power
Diamonds Are Powering a New Quantum Revolution
Trump Threatens Strikes Against Iran if Nuclear Programme Is Restarted
Apple Escalates Legal Fight by Appealing £1.5 Billion UK Ruling Over App Store Fees
UK Debt Levels Sit Mid-Range Among Advanced Economies Despite Rising Pressures
UK Plans Royal Diplomacy with King Charles and Prince William to Reinvigorate Trade Talks with US
King Charles and Prince William Poised for Separate 2026 US Visits to Reinforce UK-US Trade and Diplomatic Ties
Apple Moves to Appeal UK Ruling Ordering £1.5 Billion in Customer Overcharge Damages
King Charles’s 2025 Christmas Message Tops UK Television Ratings on Christmas Day
The Battle Over the Internet Explodes: The United States Bars European Officials and Ignites a Diplomatic Crisis
Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie Join Royal Family at Sandringham Christmas Service
Fine Wine Investors Find Little Cheer in Third Year of Falls
UK Mortgage Rates Edge Lower as Bank of England Base Rate Cut Filters Through Lending Market
U.S. Supermarket Gives Customers Free Groceries for Christmas After Computer Glitch
Air India ‘Finds’ a Plane That Vanished 13 Years Ago
Caviar and Foie Gras? China Is Becoming a Luxury Food Powerhouse
Hong Kong Climbs to Second Globally in 2025 Tourism Rankings Behind Bangkok
From Sunniest Year on Record to Terror Plots and Sports Triumphs: The UK’s Defining Stories of 2025
Greta Thunberg Released on Bail After Arrest at London Pro-Palestinian Demonstration
Banksy Unveils New Winter Mural in London Amid Festive Season Excitement
×