Foxes Round Off Campaign With Bournemouth Draw

Craig Shakespeare brought in Andy King and Islam Slimani for the final fixture of the campaign, but saw his side, donning the new 2017/18 home kit, fall behind early on. 

Lys Mousset’s deflected effort fell straight into the path of Junior Stanislas, who slotted in to give the Cherries the lead after just two minutes.

A flurry of opportunities followed for City, as Riyad Mahrez, Ben Chilwell, Yohan Benalouane and Slimani all went close, while Kasper Schmeichel had to be alert to a powerful Dan Gosling strike midway through the first period. 

Trailing 1-0 at the break, Shakespeare’s men put in a much-improved display in the second half and deservedly drew level on 52 minutes.

Chilwell delivered into Slimani from the left and the Algeria international strike got up brilliantly to nod the ball into the path of Vardy, who made no mistakes from close range. 

On the hour mark, Vardy had a goal ruled out for offside, while Ryan Allsop was on hand to deny the City No.9 with a low save shortly after. 

Half-chances for Chilwell and Wilfred Ndidi followed, but it was Slimani who would go closest to netting a winner late on – the striker heading just inches wide at the back post. 

But the Foxes could not find a winner and were held by Eddie Howe’s Cherries, who pipped the 2015/16 Premier League champions to a top-half finish. 

It’s been an emotional campaign for the City squad, not least Marcin Wasilewski, who at the full-time said a final farewell to the Blue Army after calling time on his four-year playing career with the Foxes. 

Major moment 

Despite conceding inside the opening two minutes, Leicester City dominated throughout the game and were unfortunate not to come away with all three points. 

But it was important for City to avoid defeat on the final day of the season and Jamie Vardy’s 13th Premier League strike of 2016/17 sealed a point for his side. 

Who impressed? 

Wilfred Ndidi has been a mainstay in the Leicester City side since joining the Club in January and has adapted remarkably quickly to life in England. 

He put in a typically impressive performance against Bournemouth, winning the ball plenty of times and also venturing forward on multiple occasions. 

Where do we stand? 

The draw against the Cherries means Leicester finish the season in 12th position, just one point off the top half. 

Coming up… 

After a summer break, the Foxes will report back to the Club in early July, while the 2017/18 Premier League campaign begins on the weekend of 12 August.