Leicester 2-2 Brighton: Evan Ferguson’s late header secures a point for the Seagulls

If James Maddison had any doubts about the level of expectation that now rests on his shoulders at Leicester, the answer when he came on as a second-half substitute would have removed them.

The Foxes playmaker had not featured since before the World Cup break due to knee problems and without him Leicester had fallen to four consecutive defeats.

So when Maddison came on for Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall after 69 minutes, the reaction was telling. The roar from the home crowd was as loud as it had been for any of Leicester’s goals, from Marc Albrighton and Harvey Barnes.

On this occasion, Maddison was unable to get his team over the finish line as substitute Evan Ferguson equalized with three minutes to go, leaving Leicester still seeking their first Premier League win since the World Cup break.

Kaoru Mitoma had given Brighton a deserved lead and a point was the least Roberto De Zerbi’s side deserved, after Danny Welbeck was bizarrely denied a penalty and Pascal Gross missed a sitter.

Maddison’s late free kick hit the wall and Leicester are still in trouble, one point above the relegation zone and just three clear of bottom side Southampton.

Maddison’s contract expires at the end of next season, and there’s little chance he’ll renew. Everything points to a summer sale, but if he can keep Leicester, he deserves to leave behind a hero.

“He hasn’t played for 11 weeks and it was great for us to have that quality,” Foxes boss Brendan Rodgers said. ‘Someone who can pass the ball, take the ball and play with that imagination.

‘To play at this level you have to have pride in the ball and many of our players don’t care enough when they have it and don’t bother to give it away. That always frustrates me.

‘If you give the ball away cheaply and then you have to go after it and then you take it out of the back of the net. We should have won the game. Now it’s important to move on to the second half of the season: every point counts. The players gave it their all.

Look around the Leicester team for difference making and beyond Maddison, they are thin on the ground. He scored seven goals and had four assists before the season came to a halt and he will likely need to double those two tallies to ensure Leicester’s survival in the top flight.

After Leicester take on Walsall in the FA Cup next weekend, their schedule in February looks fierce. Unai Emery improvement Aston Villa away, followed by Tottenham at home, Manchester United away and Arsenal at home.

With Chairman Aiyawatt Srivaddhanaprabha, known as Khun Top, watching, this result will have eased some of the strain on Rodgers, but there is little respite on the horizon for the Northern Irishman.

Rodgers and Khun Top met for lunch at the training ground last week and more signings are expected after Danish defender Victor Kristiansen, who is due to make his debut against Walsall. Writing on the show, Khun Top said: ‘We have shown the character and quality to turn such a form already this season and I am confident we can do it again. Supporting that process through onboarding has been a high priority for us.”

What Leicester needs is to find a gem like Mitoma. The Japanese winger was comfortably the best player in the exhibition. Not only did he score a brilliant goal, cutting in from the left and finding the far corner from 20 yards out, Mitoma was a constant threat. When he stuck to the flank, he embarrassed Timothy Castagne with his impeccable touch and clever movement from him.

He was just as effective when he slid to the inside, allowing Pervis Estupinan to overlap.

After Mitoma’s great opener, it looked like another long afternoon was in store for Leicester. But three minutes after coming on for the injured Dennis Praet, Albrighton scored an equalizer after shots from Barnes and Youri Tielemans were blocked.

Barnes then put Leicester ahead midway through the second half with a controlled finish as left-back Luke Thomas took an Albrighton corner.

Earlier, Thomas appeared to have tripped Welbeck inside the box, but a penalty kick was not awarded and De Zerbi was booked for protesting. Gross then missed an easy chance and Leicester must have thought he was lucky.

But their fragile defense was once again exposed when Ferguson, who had replaced Welbeck, slipped past Wout Faes and Daniel Amartey to head a post. “We deserved to win,” De Zerbi said. “We played better than Leicester in the second half and there was only one team on the field.”