Jean-Philippe Mateta finished last season in prolific form and the striker salvaged a late draw for Crystal Palace with his two goals denying Leicester their first win back in the Premier League.
The evergreen 37-year-old striker Jamie Vardy added his second goal of the campaign for Leicester to provide encouragement for Steve Cooper that they can confound predictions of an immediate return to the Championship. Vardy and Stephy Mavididi pounced to take advantage of porous Palace defending before Mateta pulled one back almost immediately, after a VAR check ruled the striker was not offside.
Oliver Glasner’s team appeared to be running out of ideas but they were handed a late penalty after Conor Coady’s reckless tackle brought down substitute Ismaila Sarr. Mateta tucked home the equaliser for a gut punch to Leicester after they had looked on course for a gritty victory at Selhurst Park. Both teams remain without a win this season but Palace will be grateful for the point after recovering from a two-goal deficit.
Glasner made three changes from the team that drew at Chelsea, with new signings Maxence Lacroix and Eddie Nketiah handed their debuts in place of Chris Richards and Daichi Kamada. Cheick Doucouré made his first league start of the season, with Will Hughes dropping to the bench.
Leicester made one switch from the side beaten at home by Aston Villa, with Mavididi preferred to Abdul Fatawu. Jordan Ayew lined up against his former club after leaving Palace during the summer.
Ayew spurned a glaring opportunity inside the first five minutes, sending his half-volley over the crossbar from Wilfred Ndidi’s cross. Leicester’s bright start continued and Ayew was played in by Oliver Skipp but he overran the ball and was unable to finish off the attack.
Nketiah was looking lively on his debut, following his move from Arsenal, but the forward was unable to direct his header from Tyrick Mitchell’s cross on target. Palace were starting to threaten and Eberechi Eze, fresh from featuring for England over the international break, set up Daniel Muñoz but the Colombian was denied by Wout Faes’s sliding tackle. Mads Hermansen had no trouble saving a shot from distance by Nketiah which was straight at the visiting goalkeeper.
Leicester pounced for the opening goal midway through the half, with Ndidi chipping the ball over the defence and Vardy beating Marc Guéhi to the ball before rounding Dean Henderson to slot into the empty net.
Doucouré fired in a low shot from the edge of the area but Hermansen was easily behind the ball as the frustration grew in a match marking 100 years of football at Selhurst Park. Faes was on a mission to deny Palace and the defender stuck out a leg to deflect Nketiah’s effort to safety.
Quick Guide
How do I sign up for sport breaking news alerts?
Show
- Download the Guardian app from the iOS App Store on iPhone or the Google Play store on Android by searching for ‘The Guardian’.
- If you already have the Guardian app, make sure you’re on the most recent version.
- In the Guardian app, tap the Menu button at the bottom right, then go to Settings (the gear icon), then Notifications.
- Turn on sport notifications.
Nketiah appeared Palace’s most likely scorer and the 25-year-old attempted an ambitious overhead kick but his effort failed to find the target. Leicester were increasingly under pressure but the newly promoted club escaped when Eze danced his way into the area and drilled his shot narrowly past Hermansen’s far post.
after newsletter promotion
Leicester’s attacks were less frequent but they had a significant threat on the break and Mavididi should have doubled their lead after Vardy released him when Guéhi completely missed a long ball. The winger blasted his shot wide and Palace were relieved to avoid conceding a second before the break.
But they did start the second half disastrously to fall further behind. James Justin’s cross was not dealt with by Nathaniel Clyne and Mavididi rammed the ball home from close range following another assist from Ndidi.
The hosts mustered an immediate response, however, with Mateta turning in Mitchell’s cross. The offside flag went up but after a lengthy VAR check, Justin was ruled to be playing the striker onside and Palace gave themselves a lifeline.
Palace were pushing for an equaliser and Nketiah came agonisingly close as he flashed a fierce strike just past Hermansen’s post. At the other end, Leicester were still dangerous as a counterpunching team and Skipp exchanged passes with Vardy but Henderson was alert to avert the danger. The substitute Fatawu even tried a speculative effort from the halfway line but his shot was wayward.
Glasner’s side searched desperately for a reprieve and were awarded a late penalty with Coady bringing down Sarr. Mateta sent Hermansen the wrong way and Palace avoided defeat, with Leicester rueing their recklessness.