Jamie Vardy inspired a late Leicester comeback as they came from two down to draw 2-2 with Brighton and Hove Albion.
Ruud van Nistelrooy labelled Vardy “top class” following his 86th-minute goal and assist for Bobby De Cordova-Reid (90+1) as his side stormed back to create a five-point gap on the bottom three.
“Brilliant moment so late in the game,” Van Nistelrooy, who maintained his unbeaten start, said. “To have the calmness and the composure to decide on these things, it’s absolutely top class.”
A wasteful finishing display from Brighton in the first half – after Joao Pedro and Kaoru Mitoma both put chances wide – was rectified just before the break by Tariq Lamptey’s stunning effort to open the scoring.
The defender collected the ball outside the area, cut in on his weaker left-foot and curled it into the top corner, leaving Mads Hermansen helpless in the process.
It was only the new boss’ second half-time team talk since taking over from Steve Cooper – but he seemed to get a reaction out of his players.
Leicester City’s James Justin (left) and Brighton ‘s Kaoru Mitoma battle for the ball
The hosts played with more intent after the restart. Vardy saw a well-worked move end in a blocked shot and went close with a header later on.
The home side’s hopes of walking away with a result were dampened after Minteh climbed off the bench, raced through on goal and drilled Brighton’s second into the bottom corner but Leicester responded immediately.
Vardy kick-started the impressive comeback with a neat finish at the back-post before laying the ball off to De Cordova-Reid, who tapped home and completed the stunning late turnaround in just six minutes.
The Seagulls suffered their second disappointment of the week, after already losing to Fulham, and will now be tasked with getting back to winning ways against their rivals Crystal Palace, live on Sky Sports, next Sunday.
Bobby De Cordova-Reid equalised late on for Leicester against Brighton
Van Nistelrooy: Great show of character
Leicester boss Ruud van Nistelrooy speaking in his press conference:
“Coming back from 2-0, is a great show of character. I enjoyed the second half from this team. From the minute we walked out of the tunnel, we had to change the pressure.
Ruud van Nistelrooy is unbeaten in his first two games as Leicester City boss
“We improved from the West Ham game. We got the pressure right in the second half, winning the duels and kept the ball.
“The lads were just focused on getting on with it and getting the performance going. We have players coming off the bench that can turn the game around, when the crowd gets behind them.”
Asked if he would pass the ball inside the area like Vardy did for the second, Van Nistelrooy admitted: “I’ll have to watch it back!”
Van Nistelrooy finds a way
Sky Sports’ Patrick Rowe:
It’s only two games and new manager bounce is always a factor – but Van Nistelrooy seems to be having an impact at Leicester.
The Foxes lacked intent in the first half but came out a different side after the restart, which would hint at a positive response to the team talk.
Conceding again was a blow but the response was immense. Kick-started by Vardy, who continues to defy his age, Leicester battled back and found a way to make it two games unbeaten under the new boss.
With Ipswich losing late, it’s a four-point swing in terms of the gap to the bottom three and having pressure like that off the shoulders of the new boss could be huge in the early stages of his time here.
“The performance of the second half permitted us to score two goals,” the Leicester boss continued.
“We controlled the game and they are one of the best footballing sides in this league. We get only one point with a better performance than Tuesday. Silly old game!”
It is still early days but the signs are promising. The best way to endear yourself to the fans is to get results and Van Nistelrooy has continued to do that today – but Newcastle away will be his biggest test yet.
Hurzeler: We made mistakes but this is football
Brighton boss Fabian Hurzeler speaking in his press conference:
“The first goal happened out of nowhere. We wanted to go to a back five after that to defend the goal.
“But they put a lot of players into our box. We made an easy mistake in the build-up but that is football.
Yankuba Minteh celebrates after doubling Brighton’s lead
“You can’t always have an explanation for things on the pitch. The players tried to give their best for the team and for the victory. This is where you grow as a person and as a team.
“It is not about performance it is about results and that is what we did not do today.”
Brighton let another lead slip
Sky Sports’ Patrick Rowe
“We need to be more mature,” said Hurzeler after the game.
It is now 14 points lost from winning positions for Brighton, which is more than any other side in the Premier League.
No team can win every game but if they had secured even half of those points that have evaded them, they would be sitting comfortably in second.
Three games without a win and heading into a tough clash against rivals Crystal Palace, live on Sky Sports, is not an ideal situation to be in. Especially with confidence low.
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“When you are 2-0 up, you control the whole game, you should be disappointed,” the Brighton boss continued. “We get punished for two easy mistakes. The third time this season.
“We need to find the right game management.”
