Leicester 0 – 0 C Palace

Leicester missed the chance to climb out of the Premier League relegation zone as a frustrating 0-0 draw with Crystal Palace left them with just one win from their opening 10 games.

Brendan Rodgers’ Foxes mounted the strongest case to claim victory, with James Maddison, Patson Daka, Harvey Barnes and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall all squandering chances, but there was to be no relief for their under-fire manager in a game bereft of genuine attacking quality.

Palace would register just a single attempt on target in their quest for a first away victory of the season which would have lifted Patrick Vieira’s side into the top half.

The point lifts Leicester up to 19th in the table on five points but the Foxes will be left with a sense of what might have been. Palace, who now have 10 points, move up to 13th place.

Leicester and Palace play out drab stalemate

Victory would have lifted Leicester out of the bottom three but despite making all of the early running the breakthrough eluded them, with Harvey Barnes overrunning the ball in area after playing a neat one-two with Patson Daka, who stung the palms of Vicente Guaita moments later.

It took until the half-hour mark for Palace to lay a glove on Leicester, Marc Guehi heading Eberechi Eze’s brilliant whipped free-kick over, but the Eagles would end the half stronger, with Eze flashing a shot over as boos from the home crowd greeted the half-time whistle.

Leicester peppered the Palace goal early in the second half, but Guaita was on hand to thwart Daka’s effort and Maddison flashed a shot over, before Maddison dragged wide at the end of a flowing attack just before the hour.

Palace’s first – and only – attempt on target came with 62 minutes on the clock, Odsonne Edouard poking a shot through bodies which forced a fine save from the unsighted Leicester goalkeeper Danny Ward.

The anxiety levels raised as Palace threatened to mount a push for a late winner but the withdrawal of the anonymous Wilfried Zaha on 78 minutes was symptomatic of their toothless display.

Having successfully contained the Palace attack, though, Leicester were unable to replicate it at the other end of the field, with Timothy Castagne heading a late chance straight at Guaita, before Maddison’s stoppage-time dive earned him a booking – and suspension – instead of a penalty.

Leicester, Palace fire blanks – Opta stats

• This was the first 0-0 between Leicester and Crystal Palace in a top-flight match since their first ever meeting at the top level, back in October 1971.
• Since losing four consecutive Premier League meetings with Crystal Palace between 2017-18 and 2018-19, Leicester have gone unbeaten in their last seven leagues games against the Eagles (W4 D3).
• Leicester have only won five points from 10 games in the Premier League this season – accounting for 3pts per win all-time, only in 1983-84 have they had fewer points at this stage of a league campaign (2).
• Despite only taking a point, Leicester have now kept consecutive league clean sheets at the King Power Stadium for the first time this year. The previous occasion was back in December 2021, in victories over Newcastle (4-0) and Liverpool (1-0).
• This was Crystal Palace’s sixth goalless draw in the Premier League under Patrick Vieira. Indeed, they have played out more 0-0’s than any other team in the competition since the start of last season.
• Crystal Palace attempted just eight shots in today’s game (only one on target). Since the start of last season, the Eagles are the team with the most Premier League matches in which they didn’t reach double figures for shot attempts (today being the 24th occasion).

Rodgers: Players deserved victory

Leicester boss Brendan Rodgers told BT Sport: “The performance was good. We limited a very good team who have got a lot of players with individual quality to one chance. Apart from that we pressed the game really well, particularly in the second half.

“We got into some really good areas but maybe failed to make that final pass which gets you the goal. It was a good performance from the players, they deserved to win the game, and it’s a clean sheet for us against a good team.”

Frustrated Vieira: Palace lacked quality

Crystal Palace manager Patrick Vieira told BT Sport: “It was a frustrating game; we didn’t play as well as we wanted. We had situations to create more in the first half but were not aggressive enough going forward and lacked quality.

“In the second half, it was all about Leicester. We didn’t create anything – nothing – but on the other side we defended well and didn’t concede a goal. Of course, there is frustration, but we take a point.”

What’s next?

Leicester host Leeds in the Premier League on Thursday at 8.15pm, while Crystal Palace entertain Wolves on Tuesday at 8.15pm.