Match Report: Nottingham Forest 2 - 2 Leicester City
Photo by Michael Regan/Getty Images
Foxes fight back to earn a deserved draw
**Recap**
Relegated Leicester City earned a deserved draw at Europe-bound Nottingham Forest on Sunday afternoon at the City Ground. Conor Coady opened the scoring in the first half, only to see it cancelled by a Morgan Gibbs-White strike. Chris Wood gave the hosts the lead early in the second period, but Facundo Buonanotte equalised for the Foxes who were well on top at the end of the match.
It probably goes without saying, but we saw this kind of performance all season, we’d be comfortably preparing for life in the Premier League next season. It wasn’t a win, but it was a draw away to a tough opponent and we could well have nicked it at the end. Watching this match and taking notes, this is one of the very few that felt like a “Leicester” performance all season. Pity there weren’t more of them.
I remember taking Steve Cooper to task for not using Stephy Mavididi and Abdul Fatawu and I feel the same about van Nistelrooy and Facundo Buonanotte. The Argentine loanee changed the game when he came on and suddenly the entire side were first to all loose balls. He’s a special player, and we needed special players to survive.
WhoScored.com rated Kasey McAteer and Wilfred Ndidi the top players for Leicester, even though both had fairly ordinary afternoons. That’s actually kind of refreshing in that we didn’t have one player producing a moment or two of magic, we had an entire squad playing decently and doing the job.
**3 Takeaways**
* We saw the downside of the “keep the flag down and let VAR sort it out” instructions to the linesmen today. Two players suffered injuries because an obvious offside wasn’t flagged until the play completed. That’s always been the risk.
* Stolarczyk can stop a shot and collect a cross. His distribution remains a work in progress, but he’s plenty good enough for the #1 shirt next season.
* It feels really, really, really good to disappoint Forest.
The draw gives the Foxes 22 points from 36 matches. We remain 19th on the table, level on points with Ipswich Town but five down in the goal differential column. We host the Tractor Boys next Sunday and then close out the campaign with a trip to Bournemouth on the 25th.
Leicester City: Stolarczyk, Justin, Coady, Faes, Thomas, Ndidi, Skipp, McAteer, Ayew, El Khannouss, Vardy (C)
Nottingham Forest: Sels, Aina, Milenkovic, Morato, Williams, Sangare, Anderson, Dominguez, Gibbs-White, Elanga, Wood
* * *
**Key Moments and Notes**
1’- Forest win a corner after only 23 seconds. Stolarczyk gets a hand to it and keeps it from finding a red shirt at the far post.
5’- Close! A cross from the right finds Wood at the edge of the six-yard box. It’s a free header, but he somehow puts it over.
16’- GOAL! A Luke Thomas long throw causes chaos in the Forest area. The ball falls to El Khannouss, whose deflected shot is well saved, but Coady reacts first to nod the ball into the net.
Photo by Ed Sykes/Getty Images
25’- GOAL! Luke Thomas giveth and Luke Thomas taketh away. The fullback gives away a foul in a dangerous area and Forest make him pay. Elanga takes the free kick and he finds Gibbs-White in the six-yard box. The midfielder glances home from short range.
31’- Forest are on top, but they really haven’t dominated save in the opening minutes. Watching this half, you wouldn’t guess these teams are at opposite ends of the table.
44’- Close! Dominguez gets off a powerful, rasping drive that Stolarczyk parries to Wood. The New Zealand man can’t get the rebound on target.
45+2’- City win a corner deep into injury time. The delivery finds Vardy near the near post, but he can’t get it on target.
* * *
46’- No changes at the half for either side.
53’- Close! Dominguez meets a bouncing cross with a diving header 8 yards out. He puts it directly into the keeper’s arms when it would have been simpler to score.
56’- GOAL! Wood shows Dominguez how it’s done. A diagonal cross finds the former Leicester man at the far post, and he plants his header past Stolarczyk. It was an unreal cross, but the defenders should have done better.
60’- Ayew and Skipp are off in favour of Facundo Buonanotte and Boubakary Soumare.
65’- Close! El Khannouss finds Buonanotte in the area. The Argentine’s header is on target, but it’s right at the keeper, and he saves easily.
69’- Close! A free kick finds Faes deep in the area, but he badly mistimed his jump and was on the way down when the ball arrived. He puts it over when it really should have been in the net.
71’- Buonanotte plays Vardy in. The striker cuts back on his left foot and...tries to play it to McAteer. The pass is too heavy but...why was he passing?
77’- Jeremy Monga and Victor Kristiansen are on for McAteer and Thomas.
81’- GOAL! Forest faff about at the back and pay dearly. Vardy lays it off for Buonannote, who beats his man and slots it past Sels.
Photo by Plumb Images/Leicester City FC via Getty Images
87’- What a mess! Forest play in Elanga but he’s miles offside. The flag stays down as he bears down on goal and squares of Awoniyi. He and Buonanotte come together and crash into the far post...and the flag goes up. Both players require treatment.
90+3’- Caleb Okoli comes on for El Khannouss to defend a corner.
90+7’- Close! Leicester break and the ball falls to Monga on the edge of the area. His snapshot is goalbound but Sels gets a finger to it and makes a fine save.
90+8’- Close! Buonanotte’s inswinging cross a peach. It just goes over Vardy’s head and falls to Kristiansen, but he can’t make contact, and it goes out for a goal kick.
11.05.2025 15:36 — 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0
