Leicester battled back to secure a 1-1 draw with Brentford in west London on Saturday and, most importantly, an important point in their fight against relegation.
[ MORE: How to watch Premier League in USA ]
The point not only snaps a four-game losing skid, but moves Leicester (25 points - 16th place) above Everton on goal difference, though the drop zone remains just one point below them with West Ham and Bournemouth both on 24 points. Brentford (42 points) would have overtaken both Brighton and Liverpool and gone 6th with a win, but the Bees hold steady in 8th instead.
After failing to connect the final ball on a number of promising counter-attacks in the opening half-hour, Brentford broke the deadlock with another brilliant set-piece routine (more on that below) in the 32nd minute. Mathias Jensen struck from 12 yards out for his 5th Premier League goal of the season.
WATCH BRENTFORD vs LEICESTER FULL MATCH REPLAY
Leicester settled into the game and found their footing after going behind, and the Foxes got their reward in the 52nd minute. Pressing high up the field, Timmothy Castagne and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall combined to win the ball in the attacking half of the field, with a clever through ball from James Maddison to find Harvey Barnes splitting the Bees’ defense in half. Barnes touched the ball around David Raya and tucked it inside the far post for 1-1.
Set Piece FC strikes again
With their opening goal, Brentford moved level with Arsenal and Tottenham for most Just watch it, it’s brilliant for its simplicity of design, yet the difficult and complexity of its execution (even when it doesn’t go exactly to plan). So many moving parts, so many movements to be timed perfectly, and a sea of blue shirts standing around just watching.
Stars of the show
What’s next?
Leicester will head to south London for a relegation six-pointer against Crystal Palace (27 points - 12th place) on Saturday, April 1 (10 am ET). Brentford will try to move a place (or two) higher in the Premier League table when they visit 7th-place Brighton (42 points) on the same day, at the same time.
How to watch Brentford vs Leicester live, stream link and start time
Kick off: 11am ET, SaturdayTV Channel: PeacockOnline: Stream via Peacock Premium
Key storylines & in-form players to watch
This Brentford fairytale shows no signs of ending anytime soon. Ivan Toney continues to bang in the goals, they are so tough to play against and the job Thomas Frank has done makes him a serious contender for Premier League manager of the season. The Bees are full of confidence, play with no fear and are incredible at home. The west London side have such a small budget and continue to punch well above their weight.
Leicester are in freefall and all season long they’ve been a very streaky team. At the moment they are relying heavily on James Maddison to drag them out of trouble but he can’t do it all on his own. Defensively they are making big mistakes and they are being overrun in midfield and their strikers aren’t finishing the chances Maddison is creating. All of that adds up to big problems for the Foxes. Surely they have too much quality to go down? Maybe not.
Brentford team news, injuries, lineup options
OUT: Kristoffer Ajer (calf), Vitaly Janelt (knee), Keane Lewis-Potter (knee), Thomas Strakosha (ankle) | QUESTIONABLE: Mads Roerslev (thigh)
🐝 Your Bees to take on the Foxes#BRELEI | #BrentfordFC | @bluejeansnet
— Brentford FC (@BrentfordFC) March 18, 2023
Leicester team news, injuries, lineup options
OUT: Ryan Bertrand (knee), James Justin (achilles), Youri Tielemans (ankle), Wout Faes (suspension), Jannik Vestergaard (undisclosed) | QUESTIONABLE: Victor Kristiansen (ankle), Jonny Evans (undisclosed)
The Foxes to start at Brentford 📝 🦊#BRELEI pic.twitter.com/0To2ZkD4Th
— Leicester City (@LCFC) March 18, 2023