MATCH REPORT: EVERTON 1-1 LEICESTER CITY

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James Rodriguez scored an outstanding goal as Everton drew 1-1 with Leicester City at Goodison Park.

In an intriguing match-up between two teams posing the biggest threat to the league’s traditional ‘big 6’, the visitors started the game on the front foot.

However, it was the Toffees struck first, against the run of play, on half an hour when Rodriguez was returned the ball by Wesley Fofana after a failed pass, jinked inside and hit a wicked shot with his lesser seen right foot that smacked the post on its way past a stationary Kasper Schmeichel.

Having taken a surprise lead, Carlo Ancelotti’s men proceeded to sit deep and let the Foxes, missing talisman Jamie Vardy, hunt for an equaliser which came on 67 minutes when Jordan Pickford could only parry Youri Tielemans’s shot through a forest of Everton players into the net.

The game became more end-to-end after that with each sides looking for a winner with a quarter of the match remaining.

The hosts had the better opportunities with Dominic Calvert-Lewin heading a pinpoint Lucas Digne cross wide and Andre Gomes failing to control a header across goal from inside the six-yard area in the dying embers.

The contest ended all square and the point does no harm to either side’s aspirations of European qualification leaving Brendan Rodgers’ side two points off the top in third.

Meanwhile, Everton sit just a point off their out-of-form arch rivals Liverpool who are slumped in fifth having played a game more.