The Round-Up: First Team Held By Chelsea As U18s & Women Seal Wins

Results Round-Up
05 Feb 2020
3 Minutes
Leicester City's Under-18s and Women's Team enjoyed valuable victories, while the first team drew with Chelsea, and the Development Squad faced Leasing.com Trophy action over the past five days.

After Brendan Rodgers' senior side were held to a 2-2 draw by Chelsea at King Power Stadium, with Harvey Barnes and Ben Chilwell finding the net, City's Development Squad headed to Newport.

As the last remaining Under-21s team in the EFL Trophy, a 1-0 defeat finally ended the Foxes' intrepid run to the quarter-finals of a competition also involving Sky Bet League 1 and League 2 sides.

Elsewhere, a third win in a row for the Women's Team, over Lewes at Farley Way, kept them sixth in the FA Women's Championship, while the Under-18s beat Brighton & Hove Albion 3-0 at Belvoir Drive.

In a clash between third and fourth in the Premier League, Leicester City hosted Chelsea on Filbert Way on Saturday in the early top-flight kick-off.

Manager Brendan Rodgers named Jamie Vardy to his starting XI after a glute problem, while Hamza Choudhury also started from the off at King Power Stadium.

Following an even first half, the game truly came to life after the interval, with Frank Lampard's visitors taking the lead early on through an Antonio Rüdiger header.

However, the Foxes hit back, first through a deflected Harvey Barnes strike, before fellow Academy graduate Ben Chilwell's close-range finish put Rodgers' side in the ascendancy.

Despite another header from Rudiger sealing a point for the visitors, the nature of Leicester's performance, and their standing in the league, saw them head into the break in positive fashion.

First team standing: 3rd
Next up: Wolverhampton Wanderers (A)
Top scorer: Jamie Vardy (17)

Following a 2-2 draw of their own against Chelsea's Under-23s last Friday, the Club's Development Squad were the visitors to Rodney Parade to face Newport County in the Leasing.com Trophy on Tuesday.

For the quarter-final tie in south Wales, defender Darragh O'Connor, experienced midfielder Matty James and in-form striker George Hirst returned to the starting XI.

However, they were behind after just 13 minutes, as Scot Bennett's strike, from a throw-in, went through a crowd of players to give the Exiles a one-goal lead.

Despite coming up against Football League opposition, the Foxes performed admirably and could have levelled through Luke Thomas' fearsome drive, tipped over the bar, in the second period.

Late on, meanwhile, the visitors also went desperately close to a equaliser as the ball fell to Hirst in the penalty area, but the England youth international sent his effort just wide.

Development Squad standing: 2nd
Next up: Tottenham Hotspur (H)
Top scorer: George Hirst & Admiral Muskwe (10)

The Under-18s, on the other hand, got back to winning ways with a 3-0 victory over Brighton at Belvoir Drive in the U18 Premier League South division on Saturday.

Following a 3-2 defeat by Fulham, where the young Foxes came back from three goals down to narrowly miss out in the capital, they hosted the Seagulls at the Club's training ground.

Kasey McAteer stepped up to convert from the spot on 37 minutes for the home side, before adding another goal to make it 2-0 to Leicester before the half-time break.

Brighton suffered another setback just after the hour-mark, meanwhile, as goalkeeper Roco Rees scored an own goal to send the young Foxes on their way to a 3-0 success.

Under-18s standing: 6th
Next up: Arsenal (A)

Leicester City Women also enjoyed a winning outing on Sunday, strengthening their sixth-place standing in the FA Women's Championship with a 1-0 victory over Lewes.

Following wins over Crystal Palace and Burnley, the latter of which came in the Women's FA Cup, setting up a clash with Reading, Lewes visited Farley Way in the league at the weekend.

Annabel Blanchard and Ella Rutherford were both unlucky to see early efforts saves, while Charlie Devlin looped an effort over the bar after the interval.

The goal came in the 65th minute, however, as Blanchard took down a high ball and finished confidently to give the home side a reward for their impressive performance.

Leicester City Women standing: 6th
Next up: Reading (H)