Napoli-Leicester share points in a 4 goal thriller!

Napoli faced Leicester City at the King Power Stadium in hope of a win. Both the teams finished 5th in their respective leagues with narrowly missing out on the Champions League spots in the previous season.  So both teams automatically qualified and clashed in the group stage of The Europa League.

Leicester played a 4-3-3 formation with Iheanacho as their primary striker. Napoli also used the same formation with Victor Osimhen as their no. 9. Leicester started the game with absolute fire. Harvey Barnes on the left was untouchable. He got a great chance in the 3rd minute of the game to put The Foxes in the front seat but the Colombian goalkeeper didn’t allow the winger to get a result. But, this didn’t stop the Englishman. Barnes in the 8th minute ran down the left flank and made an absolute pinpoint cross in the penalty box to Ayoze Perez who hit the ball on the volley into the back of the net. Leicester were on cloud 9 as they were leading the game in just under 10 minutes.

Napoli immediately reacted with a couple of shots by Insigne and Osimhen but couldn’t convert anything into something positive. While the Napoli build-up play, Ndidi fouled Anguissa in the midfield and was booked for the same. Napoli kept on pressing and Insigne’s shooting was a constant threat for The Foxes. The first half ended with the scoreboard showing the score Leicester City 1-0 Napoli.

Soon after the 1st half, Daka scored an amazing goal for Leicester but was later ruled out after a VAR check. In the 64th minute, Iheanacho played on the right-wing and provided an immaculate through pass to Barnes who smashed the ball into the bottom right corner of the net. This time the goal stood and Leicester further increased their lead by 2-0.

Leicester completely dominated the pitch in the first hour and the scoreboard reflected the same. But, things were about to change for The Foxes. After taking a 2-0 lead, Leicester’s defence became complacent and clumsy. This resulted in a complete collapse of concentration and Napoli took full advantage of it. Osimehn in a matter of 20 minutes scored a brace and brought back Napoli into the game. The frustration of losing the lead was visible in Leicester players. Ndidi in the injury time to save the team from the defeat tried to break the build-up play by the Italian club. But, that was not well received by the referee and he was shown the second yellow just before the final whistle. At full time the scoreboard read Leicester City 2-2 Napoli. Leicester lost a 2 goal lead and let an easy win slip away from their hands. Napoli on the other hand now has a crucial away point.