Sean Dyche had seen this film before – and although the ending was slightly more pleasing than his last two times watching it, the Everton boss must be sick to death of the same old storyline plaguing his beleaguered team.
For a third successive game, the Toffees started in style, took the lead with a well-worked goal and looked a good bet to go on and win. But then they retreated, invited pressure and eventually contrived to throw it away.
What could – and perhaps should – have been three victories in a row has concluded with zero wins on the board and just one point to show for it. Had they won those games, Everton would be in the European spots. Instead, they are in the drop zone, 19th on alphabetical order alone.
Stephy Mavididi struck a 73rd-minute equaliser to earn Leicester a draw and cancel out Iliman Ndiaye’s first-half opener for Everton. As the two rain-soaked managers shook hands at full-time, it felt like neither were overly content with the outcome.
For Dyche it represented, at least, his team getting off the mark for the season. Performance wise, they have been far better than their league position suggests which must give the boss deja vu to this time last year when they also started with four losses and a draw.
Iliman Ndiaye scored his first Premier League goal to give Everton an early lead at Leicester
Stephy Mavididi scored a scruffy goal from a corner to get the hosts back on level terms
Ndiaye scored the opener with a stunning effort that went in off the post after just 12 minutes
But Dyche actually went home happier than his opposite number Steve Cooper, according to their post-match soundbites. The Everton boss was delighted with a point given injury and illness has ravaged through the camp this week.
They fielded just eight substitutes – two of them goalkeepers – and had to play midfielder James Garner at right back and right-footed Ashley Young at left back again. Noting the thin squad to call upon, a draw might be OK in hindsight, even though it does not seem like it now.
Cooper was left angered by a first-half performance that he described as ‘nowhere near the level required’ in the Premier League. He was right. Leicester were second to every loose ball and did not defend as a unit.
The Foxes were grateful that Jesper Lindstrom seemingly forgot his shooting boots after four minutes when the Napoli loanee did not connect with a volley when unmarked at the back post. But Everton took the lead on 12 minutes thanks to a dazzling individual move.
Ndiaye, the summer signing from Marseille, picked up the ball with Leicester players either side of him but wriggled free and unleashed a well-hit strike that zipped along the wet surface and bounced in off Mads Hermansen’s near post.
Of course, Everton had been here before – taking the lead meant little for a team who have squandered two-goal advantages in both of their previous two league games. But if anywhere was the place to get over their psychological demons, low-on-confidence Leicester might be it.
The away side continued to dictate proceedings but their dominance was somewhat thwarted by things out of their control. It’s the sort of luck you get at the bottom of the table. By now the rain was coming down in a fashion that Dyche admitted he had ‘never seen before’.
‘It was that bizarre in the warm-up, you know how hot it was, that goalkeeper coach Billy Mercer told me to put factor 50 on, which I did,’ said the boss. ‘It is fair to say I didn’t need it! I have never experienced conditions as bad as that.’
This felt like a genuine six-pointer with pressure mounting on both managers
Mavididi ensured that Everton would fail to win from a winning position for the third game in a row
Sean Dyche’s side had lost games after leading prior to this so this was a small step forward
Ashley Young provided the assist for Ndiaye with a neat one-two down the left flank
Dyche joked that going off Everton’s recent luck, he would not have been too surprised if he got struck by lightning. For a manager who is under pressure – more with the fans than the board it must be said – he cuts an incredibly relaxed figure.
As he went on to point out, he has been in sticky situations before at Everton and Burnley and nearly always managed to steer his teams clear. But although he is confident, next weekend’s home match against Crystal Palace has the feeling of a must-win for the 53-year-old.
By the second half, which was delayed due to the rain, both managers looked like drowned rats. Since the famous ‘Wally with a brolly’ tag that followed Steve McClaren around after his England sacking, bosses would rather get wet than give the headline writers a chance.
But Leicester came out with more intent after the extended break. Although Lindstrom missed two further chances either side of half-time and Hermansen saved well from a Dominic Calvert-Lewin shot, the away team started to retreat.
Caleb Okoli saw a header loop over from five yards and Jamie Vardy was nearly picked out unmarked in the box – he would have controlled the ball and most probably scored if he was a yard to his right. But Leicester finally found the breakthrough on 73 minutes.
A mix-up in the Everton box saw them concede a corner and Harry Winks put an inviting cross into the penalty area. Mavididi pounced on a loose ball to score in scrappy fashion, fitting given the conditions.
Steve Cooper is still searching for a first Premier League win after being made Leicester boss
Judging by the gestures of Dyche’s right-hand man Ian Woan in stoppage time as Pickford collected a long ball – his arms outstretched pointing to the floor to slow proceedings – Everton were rather satisfied with a point.
It buys them some credit, as does the performance for the majority of the match in testing conditions – both weather-wise and in terms of player absences. But the boos from all four corners of the ground demonstrated that no fan left the stadium truly happy.