12 April 2025
Brighton 2 Leicester 2
It has been a topsy-turvy season for The Seagulls this campaign. They show glimpses of a side who are more than capable of securing European football but then struggle to find any consistency. Brighton welcomed Leicester to the south coast, on paper, this should be nothing but a home win. The Foxes had failed to even score a goal in their last eight games.
Even the most ardent Leicester fans surely do not think that they can get themselves out of the predicament they find themselves in. It is going to be a short Premier League stay for Ruud van Nistelrooy’s side, with the manager surely wondering how much more time he has left in the Leicester City hotseat. Much like the other sides in the bottom three, the quality of their squad is distinctly lacking.
The Seagulls started brightly and should have taken the lead early on when Adingra lifted a cross to the back post. Minteh was completely unmarked but seemed to go for it with his wrong foot and sent his effort wide of the target. It is crazy to see how one-footed some of these professional footballers are considering they train every day.
Leicester started to grow in confidence and should have punished the hosts. Mavididi received it in a wide position and dropped his shoulder as he cut inside. He feigned shots to cause defenders to commit before finding himself in the heart of the penalty area. When he finally pulled the trigger, he sent his effort sailing into the stands when he should have been working the keeper as a minimum.
Brighton came on the attack and looked to test Hermansen in The Foxes’ goal. It seemed to be blocked by Coady and the visitors cleared their lines. VAR checked the incident and sent the referee to the monitor. Looking at the replay, it was a clear handball from the former Wolves defender and the official quickly changed his decision.
Joao Pedro stepped up to take it and sent the keeper the wrong way as his effort nestled into the bottom corner of the goal. The Amex Stadium erupted and you could barely deny them this lead. Although they had failed to work the keeper enough in the early stages, Fabian Hurzeler’s side had dominated this game and now had something to show for their efforts.
The lead didn’t last long as The Foxes threw caution to the wind. Mavididi received the ball in space and immediately looked to cross. It ricocheted off a defender back into his path. The winger tried a first-time shot and, somehow, it ended up in the back of the net. It was Leicester’s first goal in the Premier League since January, in case anyone wondered why they were going down.
The hosts almost restored their lead in added time when O’Reilly ghosted into the penalty area. His shot had Hermansen beaten but came crashing back off the post. Leicester went straight down the other end and McAteer rose to get his head on it, causing an acrobatic save from Verbruggen to tip it over the crossbar for The Seagulls.
After the interval, O’Riley was hauled to the floor but the referee waved away penalty appeals. However, a VAR review once again sent him to the monitor which tends to mean only one thing. Joao Pedro stepped up to take his second penalty of the game and the outcome was the same as he slotted it into the top corner of the goal.
At this stage you still felt that the hosts needed another goal to put this one to bed. With things so tight in the table, if Fabian Hurzeler’s side were going to qualify for Europe, nothing but three points would do. While the visitors had not been finding goals easy to come by in 2025, you never feel safe with a slender lead in the Premier League.
The Foxes were to make them pay the price as a free-kick was swung into the box by El Khannouss. Okoli met it with a superb diving header at the back post, giving Verbruggen no chance in keeping it out at all. The Amex Stadium fell silent as they saw their lead cancelled out for the second time in the match by a team spiralling out of the top-flight.
Things almost got worse for The Seagulls as El Khannouss looked to bend one into the far corner. With The Seagulls’ keeper well beaten, his effort came back off the post and was cleared. As the full-time whistle was blown, boos rang out all around the Amex Stadium. The points were shared and it did neither team any favours.
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