As has often been the case during the last decade, Jamie Vardy was at the centre of everything for Leicester on Saturday, as the FA Cup winners were held by Burnley at the King Power Stadium.
After inadvertently heading the visitors in front early in the first half, the veteran striker rectified his mistake by netting at the right end either side of the break, to help his side salvage a 2-2 draw.
Failing to win a match in which they dominated possession and had 22 shots at goal will certainly have frustrated boss Brendan Rodgers, who previously saw his team lose against Manchester City and Brighton, leaving them winless in the Premier League throughout this month.
Though the Foxes did manage to overcome second-tier Millwall in the EFL Cup last week, they are therefore in need of a morale boost from victory in Europe this Thursday, as they journey to the Polish capital.
Leicester opened their Europa League campaign by drawing 2-2 at home to Serie A leaders Napoli, with Ayoze Perez and Harvey Barnes giving the East Midlands outfit a two-goal lead before the visitors clawed their way back to draw level and Wilfred Ndidi was dismissed for a second bookable offence.
They now take on the tough task of playing the Polish champions in their own back yard, before meeting Spartak Moscow early next month. Having exited last term’s tournament at the first knockout stage – losing 2-0 on aggregate to Slavia Prague – any plans Rodgers has for surpassing that feat could rely on their fate in these next two games.
As they got their Group C challenge off to a positive start, meanwhile, Legia will also fancy themselves to progress to the next phase by the end of the year.
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The Legionisci became the first winners of this season’s group stage earlier this month, when a stoppage-time goal from Kosovo international Lirim Kastrati earned them a 1-0 victory at Spartak, despite having been under fire for most of the match.
Ekstraklasa champions in 2020-21 for the second year in a row – plus the fifth time in six seasons and a record-breaking 15th time all told – Legia finally made it through to this stage of the Europa League after four straight eliminations in the competition’s qualifying phase, including an agonising playoff defeat to Qarabag last year.
Having already put three points on the board in a particularly competitive group, they now welcome Leicester to Stadion Wojska Polskiego amid a run of three losses from their last four league games
