U21s Report: Leicester City 1 Chelsea 1

A first-half strike from Isaiah Brown put the visitors 1-0 up but Gary Taylor-Fletcher equalised five minutes into the second half to earn Steve Beaglehole’s side their first point of the season.
There was game time for first teamers with Marc Albrighton, Taylor-Fletcher, Tom Lawrence and Nick Powell all starting while defender James Pearson captained the side.
Academy left back Ben Chilwell also put in an impressive performance having recently played for England’s Under-19 side against Germany in a 1-1 draw in early September.
Albrighton was a threat down the right wing early and proved to be a handful for the Chelsea back four all game – the former Aston Villa man whipping in dangerous crosses but couldn’t pick out his man.
The visitors mustered up the first effort on goal as captain Lewis Baker turned on the edge of the box and fired a shot straight at Adam Smith, who collected comfortably on 14 minutes.
And Baker struck again on 19 minutes but couldn’t beat the City No.1 after a quick counter attacking move from the London side.
Albrighton then struck from range but couldn’t direct his effort on goal while Jordan Houghton went close at the other end on 25 minutes, but after a one-two with Brown, Smith collected his tame shot easily.
City came close to opening the scoring three minutes later when Powell’s low cross found Taylor-Fletcher in the box, but the former Blackpool man fired his shot on to the bar, and Albrighton couldn’t turn in the rebound.
The visitors broke the deadlock on 35 minutes after Brown cut through the Foxes midfield and hammered a shot into the back of the net to make it 1-0.
Only a superb save from Mitchell Beeney denied Steve Beaglehole’s men an immediate reply, turning away a close-range effort from Lawrence just minutes after Chelsea took the lead.
Albrighton and Lawrence looked for the equaliser shortly after the break – both attackers striking at goal and coming close to netting.
After a spell of pressure from the Foxes, Taylor-Fletcher did just that with 50 minutes on the clock, hooking his foot round a Powell nod-down deep inside the box to make it 1-1.
Chelsea pressed for a second but an effort from Fankaty Dabo from the left wing was blocked well by Alie Sesay.
A 30-yard free kick from Baker just past the hour mark then tested Smith but the ‘keeper was wise to his effort and held the ball well.
A sublime touch and dribble from substitute Jack Barmby then looked to have put City in front but his shot rose just over the bar on 70 minutes.
Smith then produced a key save five minutes later when Brown, who was a physical presence throughout, got in behind the City defence – the shot-stopper denying the forward well.
Albrighton could have snatched all three points late on but his low drive was blocked by Beeney and the ball was cleared.
But the Under-21s will be happy to head into the international break with a point on the board after a tough three opening fixtures.
Having gone on a remarkable run of wins after facing top-of-the-league Fulham last year, Beaglehole will certainly hope his team can repeat that feat, and the vital point earned against Chelsea may well kick-start the Foxes’ season.
CITY: Smith, Pearson (c), Chilwell, Rowley (Barmby 46), Sesay, Elder, Albrighton, Taylor-Fletcher (Stankevicius 75), Powell, Cain, Lawrence
SUBS NOT USED: Moore, Maddison, Scott
GOAL: Taylor-Fletcher 50
CHELSEA: Beeney, Kane, Davey, Aina, Dabo, Houghton, Kiwomya, Loftus-Cheek (Colkett 46), Brown, Baker (c) (Palmer 87), Boga (Musonda 46)
SUBS NOT USED: Grainger, Mitchell
GOAL: Brown 35
REFEREE: Declan Ford