- Leicester City round off the 2016/17 Premier League season with a 1-1 draw against AFC Bournemouth
- The Foxes went behind after 60 seconds to a Junior Stanislas strike but Jamie Vardy pulled one back after the break
- City end the season in 12th position after an impressive end to the campaign
- Manager Craig Shakespeare was delighted to see the response from his team after going behind
Craig Shakespeare praised the way his side recovered from a tricky start to secure a 1-1 Premier League draw with AFC Bournemouth in their season finale at King Power Stadium on Sunday afternoon.
The Foxes were immediately on the back foot as Junior Stanislas fired the visitors ahead from close range in a little over 60 seconds – the benefactor of a fortunate deflection as Bournemouth launched an early counter attack.
It was a difficult first half for the Foxes but after the break, they emerged a different side completely, with Jamie Vardy drawing them level after Islam Slimani had headed back across goal.
Vardy, Slimani and Wilfred Ndidi all had chances to win it as City pushed for a goal that would have lifted them into the top half, but in the end they had to settle for a 12th placed finish to round off an impressive second half of the campaign.
Reflecting on the result, Shakespeare said: “We got off to the worst possible start and I thought that made us edgy, really. Especially after conceding six the other night. We didn’t really press Bournemouth high enough and played too deep. The best thing at half time was the fact that we were only 1-0 down.
“I thought the second half response was excellent. Yes we could have gone on and won the game. We had the chances and on another day they go in. We said as a group that we needed to get higher up the pitch, we were sitting too deep.
“We needed to press harder and play with the intensity that we are renowned for, but it’s hard because Bournemouth are a good side. They play to a system with technical players but we needed to get about them more. We did that. I also wanted the forwards to play closer together and get more balls in the box – which we did.
“We showed that response which is good for the lads. We were trying to force the issues towards the end and it become more open. I thought we did press for that win in the second half.”