Leicester fight back from two goals down to draw against Brighton.

Leicester City scored two late goals to come back from 2-0 down and draw 2-2 with Brighton & Hove Albion.

The Seagulls appeared to be on course for a comfortable victory, with a stunning first-half strike from Tariq Lamptey having been followed up by Yankuba Minteh’s effort on 79 minutes.

Yet Leicester talisman Jamie Vardy dragged Ruud van Nistelrooy’s Foxes back into the contest as he poked in from close range to set up a grandstand finish.

And Vardy was involved in the stoppage-time equaliser, teeing up Bobby De Cordova-Reid to tap in and claim a draw in dramatic fashion.

The result leaves Leicester 16th in the table, five points above the relegation zone and unbeaten in two matches under new manager Van Nistelrooy. Brighton are in seventh, three points behind fourth-placed Manchester City.

How the match unfolded

The visitors had the better of the opening exchanges, with Joao Pedro volleying wide after 14 minutes before Pervis Estupinan tested Mads Hermansen from distance on a couple of occasions, and Kaoru Mitoma squandered a golden chance by firing over from close range.

It took something far more spectacular to eventually break the deadlock, Lamptey cutting in from the right flank and curling a beauty into the far corner to put his side one up with eight minutes to play before half-time.

Leicester were a little more lively in the second half, Vardy having a near-post shot blocked by Jan Paul van Hecke, before Joao Pedro saw a shot stopped by Jannik Vestergaard at the other end.

It was Brighton who found the next moment of quality, though, when Minteh raced away down the left before cutting into the area, teasing the recovering Leicester defenders and drilling low into the left-hand corner.

But Vardy’s crisp finish on 86 minutes set up a tense finish for Brighton, and Leicester secured a memorable point when Igor Julio was caught in possession, with De Cordova-Reid on hand for a simple finish from Vardy’s pass.

Foxes find a way

For much of this contest, Leicester struggled to lay a glove on a Brighton side firmly in control.

But their ability to fight back and claim a draw sums up a team that looks ready to battle for every point possible this season, and new boss Van Nistelrooy remains undefeated.

Leicester have rarely wowed with their performances but do keep going until the end, this the third occasion this season that they have netted a crucial added-time goal.

Having also scored second-half equalisers against Tottenham Hotspur and Everton, their ability to stay alive in games could be what gives them the edge in the battle to stay up.

It certainly gives Van Nistelrooy something to work with, even if elements of this performance will have concerned him.

Leicester conceded too many chances in their win against West Ham United on Tuesday and struggled to create enough themselves in this match but have come away with four points from the Dutchman’s first two matches in charge, which is testament to their character.

Brighton continue to confuse

Such is Brighton’s record against teams towards the bottom of the Premier League that Fabian Hurzeler will probably feel if they could get it right, they might have even been outside title contenders this season.

The Seagulls have failed to win any game against teams sitting 14th or lower since their opening-day 3-0 victory over Everton, failing to beat Ipswich Town, Wolverhampton Wanderers, Southampton and now Leicester in that time.

Their success this season has largely been based on results against opponents around them, with their last five league victories prior to this match coming against Manchester United, Spurs, Newcastle United, Man City and AFC Bournemouth.

Had they picked up more points from games they would expect to win, Hurzeler’s side would be right amongst it at the very top of the table.

Instead, they will reflect on two points dropped as they appeared to wilt in the face of the late Leicester onslaught.

Most of this match was fairly straightforward for the visitors but a lack of concentration in the final stages meant they could not improve a run against teams towards the bottom of the table that is hampering their high hopes for the campaign.

Club reports

Leicester report | Brighton report

What the managers said

Ruud van Nistelrooy: “Coming back from 2-0 is a great show of character. I enjoyed the second half from this team.”

Fabian Hurzeler: “How can you explain that? It’s just football sometimes. We have to learn from it because we have experienced it this season. We need to be more mature and finish off the games. You can’t explain it sometimes. We can also see it as an opportunity to show character.”

Next Premier League fixtures

Key facts

Nine of Brighton’s 10 outfielders who started this match either registered a shot or created a chance, with Georgino Rutter the only starting player to not do so.

Brighton have now failed to win any of their seven Premier League away matches against Leicester City (D4 L3), the joint-most they’ve faced a side on the road without registering a single victory (also 7 v Manchester City at the Etihad).

Brighton and Hove Albion have failed to win two of the last three Premier League matches in which they have led by 2+ goals (W1 D2) – as many as their previous 40 beforehand (W38 D2).

Aged 37 years and 332 days, Leicester’s Vardy is the second-oldest player in Premier League history to both score and assist a goal in a single match, after Ryan Giggs vs Fulham in December 2011 (38y 22d).

(EPL)