U21s Report: Liverpool 2 Leicester City 1

- Harry Panayiotou nodded in from close range six minutes after the striker saw his penalty saved by Ryan Fulton 

- Cameron Brannagan netted a late winner for the Merseyside outfit after throwing himself in the way of Joe Davis’ clearance 

- The Foxes next face Norwich City in the Premier League International Cup on 20 October 

A stroke of luck for Liverpool two minutes from time saw Leicester City’s Development Squad narrowly beaten in the Barclays U21 Premier League at Langtree Park on Monday evening. 

The hosts broke the deadlock just before the half-hour mark when Jerome Sinclair tapped in from six yards from Jose Enrique’s low cross. 

The Foxes rallied after the break and were awarded a penalty with 57 minutes gone when Harry Panayiotou was brought down in the box. The striker stepped up, but saw his spot-kick saved by Ryan Fulton, before Michael Cain hit the rebound onto the crossbar. 

But a superb response from City eventually saw them grab a deserved equaliser through Panayiotou, who headed in from close range six minutes after his penalty was saved. 

The game looked like it would finish 1-1, but Joe Davis’ clearance from deep inside the City box took a wicked deflection off Brannagan and fortunately found the back of the net. 

City sat one point above Monday’s rivals heading into this fixture, which finished 2-1 to the Merseyside outfit last term, as both sides looked for their first win of the season. 

Liverpool were beaten 4-2 by Chelsea last time out, while the Foxes, despite recovering from two goals down twice, lost 7-4 to Tottenham Hotspur in a thrilling encounter in London. 

City showed plenty of fighting spirit in that clash, and that’s exactly what Steve Beaglehole was after when his youngsters took on a Liverpool side that so often display plenty of grit and determination themselves. 

This match proved to be the last of three consecutive away fixtures, having faced Southampton and Spurs already this month. It was City’s final fixture until their clash with Norwich City on 20 October, and their determination to gain all three points against Liverpool was evident right from the off as some good early defending from Davis saw the centre back block Sinclair’s effort with five minutes on the clock. 

Liverpool defender Pedro Chirivella then fired a volley wide of the mark three minutes later, while the quick thinking of goalkeeper Jonny Maddison prevented Brannagan from latching onto a dangerous through-ball. 

Midfielder Cain had City’s first effort of the game on 27 minutes, but his strike was blocked, and it was Liverpool who would go on to open the scoring shortly after. 

A good run down the left wing from Jose Enrique saw the defender deliver a low cross to the front post that found Sinclair, who side-footed in from inside the six yard box. 

Maddison was on hand just moments later, collecting Joao Teixiera’s low strike, before the shot-stopper pulled of a stunning save right on the stroke of half-time to prevent the hosts from doubling their lead. 

A neat turn from Panayiotou then saw the St. Kitts and Nevis international work some space before firing towards goal, only for Clary to get in the way of the strike. 

A superb block from Jak McCourt denied Teixiera’s effort on the edge of the box, before a swift break from the Foxes saw Joe Dodoo, who last week netted on his King Power Stadium debut in the Capital One Cup Third Round win against West Ham United, hammer a strike into the side-netting. 

There was a flurry of chances for City to find a leveller, as substitute Layton Ndukwu saw his shot sneak under goalkeeper Fulton, before the stopper pulled off another good save shortly after. 

The Foxes were awarded a penalty after Panayiotou was fouled by Cleary just before the hour mark, but Fulton made a good stop to his right to deny the striker from 12 yards, and the rebound was turned onto the bar by Cain. 

But it was an excellent response from Beaglehole’s outfit, who deservedly found themselves level on 63 minutes. A superb pass from McCourt found Dodoo on the left flank. The winger slipped in Ben Chilwell on the overlap and the left back delivered into Panayiotou, who nodded in to make it 1-1. 

Maddison then pulled off a good stop to deny Sinclair, while Jacob Blyth also went close at the other end as the striker fired just over from Chilwell’s pass. 

Another magnificent stop from Maddison followed just moments later as the shot-stopper got a vital hand to Teixiera’s powerful drive with just under 10 minutes to play. 

A superior second-half performance from the men in blue certainly warranted three points, but a stroke of luck for Liverpool saw the hosts net a fortunate winner late on. 

Alie Sesay blocked the initial strike and the ball fell to the feet to skipper Davis, whose attempted clearance deflected off Brannagan and into the back of the net with just two minutes to play. 

Leicester did have a late opportunity to level the game up, but Dodoo curled a 25-yard free kick over the bar in injury time, bringing to an end an entertaining 90 minutes of football that City certainly could have won. 

LIVERPOOL: Fulton, Maguire, Enrique (Randall 46), Cleary, Brewitt, Chirivella, Gomez, O’Hanlon, Sinclair, Brannagan (c), Teixeira (Hart 90)

SUBS NOT USED: Virtue-Thick, Wheeler, Marsh 

GOALS: Sinclair 29, Brannagan 88 

CITY: Maddison, Sesay, Chilwell, McCourt (Rowe 75), Davis (c), Moore (Ndukwu 46), Miles, Cain, Blyth (King 85), Panayiotou, Dodoo 

SUBS NOT USED: Trialist, Kipre 

GOAL: Panayiotou 63 

REFEREE: Gareth Mellor