Depleted Leicester held to draw at Burnley, Blades get vital win

Third-placed Leicester City were held to a 1-1 Premier League draw at lowly Burnley on Wednesday after their Nigerian striker Kelechi Iheanacho cancelled out Matej Vydra’s opener.

Burnley grabbed a fourth-minute lead when Hamza Choudhury’s poor pass back to Wilfred Ndidi was intercepted on the edge of the box by Vydra and the Czech striker blasted past Kasper Schmeichel for his first league goal of the season.

Choudhury could have made quick amends when Timothy Castagne found him unmarked in the box but he struck the ball into the ground and Nick Pope was able to tip over.

Despite the absence of key creative players James Maddison and Harvey Barnes, Leicester were a threat going forward and got reward for their endeavours with an impressive equaliser in the 34th minute.

Ndidi floated a beautifully weighted ball towards Iheanacho in the area and the Nigeria’s timing and technique was perfect as he volleyed past Pope.

Burnley, 15th in the table, had been poor in their 4-0 loss at Tottenham on Sunday but had much more verve about them boosted by the return of Chris Wood to their attack.

Burnley midfielder Ashley Westwood struck the post with a drive from outside the box as Sean Dyche’s side, still with a nervous eye on the relegation zone, searched for the full points.
Leicester also hit the woodwork with a Youri Tielemans shot, slightly deflected off Jack Cork, but Brendan Rodgers’ side had to settle for the point.

In Wednesday’s second early kick-off, a poacher’s goal from David McGoldrick gave bottom side Sheffield United a 1-0 home win over Aston Villa, as they overcame Phil Jagielka’s sending off to grab their fourth Premier League victory of the season.

The home side took the lead on the half-hour mark when McGoldrick timed his run perfectly, stealing in at the far post to bundle home George Baldock’s cross-shot.

Villa’s Ollie Watkins hit the crossbar with a glancing header in the 54th minute and three minutes later Jagielka was shown a red card after a lengthy VAR review for a foul on Anwar El-Ghazi, who referee Robert Jones ruled was through on goal.

The visitors had plenty of possession but Aaron Ramsdale was rock-solid in the United goal as his side hung on for a win that leaves them on 14 points after 27 games, 12 behind 17th-placed Newcastle.