Pressure builds on Shakespeare as West Brom hold Leicester

If history was anything to go by, there would be at least one goal in this matchup. There hadn’t been a goalless draw between Leicester and West Brom since 1967.

However, a very uninspiring first period ended 0-0, with a scuffed volley from Chadli and firm strike from Danny Simpson the only chances of note.

Leicester kicked off the second half with more of a spring in their step and soon came close to breaking the deadlock. Harry Maguire saw a header cleared off the line before Mahrez somehow blasted over from close range.

The hosts were stunned after Chadli superbly bent a free-kick into the top corner midway through the second half, but they found a late equaliser through Mahrez, meaning the spoils were shared at The King Power Stadium.

A very casual opening 15 minutes was brought to life by the duel between Jamie Vardy and Ahmed Hegazi on the left flank. The Leicester striker brought three fouls in the opening eight minutes from the Baggies defender, who picked up an early yellow card for his troubles.

The lethargic tempo continued throughout the majority of the first period. Despite setting up very defensively, it was Tony Pulis’ side that had the first half-chance of the encounter on 18 minutes. Bright work on the left from Kieran Gibbs set Chadli up on the volley, but he couldn’t direct his effort on target from the edge of the box.

Boaz Myhill was brought into action for the first time just after the half-hour mark. Simpson picked up a Leicester throw just inside the box and sent a brilliant strike towards goal, but the West Brom goalkeeper was there to make a smart save.

The home side ended the half positively but were still unable to break down a stern Baggies backline. Neat play on the left from Mahrez allowed Marc Albrighton to reach the right byline, and he delivered a delightful low ball across the face of goal, but nobody was there for the Foxes and the chance went begging.

Leicester had two opportunities to open the scoring minutes after the restart. First, Maguire pushed a header towards goal, but Craig Dawson was on hand for West Brom to steer away off the line and second, Mahrez leathered over from 12 yards out. A very clever back-heel from Vardy set Albrighton away down the left, and he got to the byline before nudging a cross into the path of Mahrez. The winger had it on a plate but wasn’t able to get over the ball and sent a strike high over the crossbar.

To the shock of the entire King Power crowd, it was the Baggies who took the lead on 63 minutes. Kelechi Iheanacho clipped Dawson after a loose touch, handing West brom a dangerous looking free kick. Chadli stepped up and expertly curled a strike over the wall and into the top right corner, giving Kasper Schmeichel no chance in the Leicester goal.

Mahrez did, however, made amends for his earlier miss by netting the equaliser with 10 minutes to play. The ball was worked out to substitute Ben Chillwell on the left, who whipped in a delivery to the far post that was only cleared as far as the Algerian. He chested past a Baggies defender before calmly slotting past Myhill into the bottom corner.

From that point on, only the Foxes wanted to wanted all three points, but West brom did enough to close out the game with relative ease.

The results means Leicester have failed to win any of their last seven Premier League games, increasing the pressure of boss Shakespeare. West Brom, on the other hand, continue their strong start to the campaign, and despite not creating much going forward, will be happy with the outcome.