Stoke City 2-2 Leicester City

Stoke striker Jonathan Walters scored his side's second goal

Leicester came back from two goals down to draw 2-2 at Stoke City and maintain their unbeaten start to the season.

Foxes striker Jamie Vardy held off the home defence to equalise after Riyad Mahrez scored his fifth goal of the season from the penalty spot.

Bojan, making his first start of 2015-16, had given Stoke an early lead from Marko Arnautovic's reverse pass.

Striker Jonathan Walters doubled the advantage but Stoke are still searching for their first win of the season.

Relive how Stoke and Leicester drew 2-2

Follow all the reaction to this match and Saturday's other games

Kings of the comeback

Ranieri concerned about comebacks

Claudio Ranieri's Leicester have been one of the stories of the season so far, as three wins and three draws have taken them into second spot in the Premier League, behind only Manchester City.

Last Sunday they scored three times in the last 20 minutes to win 3-2 against Aston Villa and while they could not quite match that feat, their skill and spirit secured them a deserved point.

Vardy's equaliser was his fourth goal of the season and reward for how he unsettled the Stoke defence after the break.

Algerian winger Mahrez has now been involved in eight goals this season and he was always a threat on an afternoon when his side struggled in the first half.

After Bojan's opener, Leicester captain Wes Morgan was badly at fault for Stoke's second goal, attempting an ill-conceived backpass that fell perfectly into the path of Walters. But his side were again able to retrieve the situation.

Victory thrown away by Stoke?

Leicester's second goal started with Danny Drinkwater (no.4) running with the ball for about 30 yards in the wrong direction after collecting Kasper Schmeichel's clearance. Perhaps doing so caused Stoke to switch off when the long ball came forward

Mark Hughes's side went into the game with only two points and having lost both their home games.

They appeared set to get their season going when Bojan, who had last made a league start in January against Leicester, slotted past goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel after a brilliant turn, run and pass from Arnautovic.

However, it was the Austrian forward who allowed Leicester a route back into the game, forcing down Leicester's Danny Drinkwater early in the second half for the penalty converted by Mahrez.

They then failed to deal with a long ball forward for Vardy's equaliser, although Stoke players angrily claimed that Walters was being held by Morgan in the lead-up to the goal.

Bojan brings invention to Potters

The cruciate ligament injury suffered by Bojan in January was a cruel blow to player and club with the 25-year-old Spaniard so often the inspiration for Stoke last season.

Hughes has eased him back into the team, restricting him to only substitute appearances before this game and he was rewarded with a good display before he tired in the second half and was replaced in the 82nd minute.

He made 39 passes with 74% accuracy and his threat was vital for a Stoke side without top scorer Mame Biram Diouf who has a hamstring strain.

Man of the match

Leicester striker Jamie Vardy has scored in three successive Premier League games for the first time and threatened to win the game for his side after his equaliser

Manager reaction

Leicester boss Claudio Ranieri: "The first 12 minutes before Stoke scored we played very well but after that they scored a very, very good goal and we were making too many mistakes, losing a lot of balls in the middle of the pitch.

"We need to start games better so we are not always fighting back."

Stoke boss Mark Hughes: "We were good value for being 2-0 up and talked at half-time about not letting Leicester back early in the second half and that's what happened.

Hughes frustrated with draw

"We made a mistake on the penalty and at 2-1 we had to deal with their momentum. We then made a mistake for their second goal but maybe we were distracted by the foul on Jonathan Walters at the other end. We picked up a point but should have had three.

"Bojan was a huge positive and scored a good goal. We have got to get him up to speed but I was pleased with him."

The stats you need to know

Jonathan Walters (35) is now two clear of Peter Crouch (33) as Stoke City's all-time leading Premier League scorer.
Stoke have suffered just one defeat in their last seven meetings in all competitions with Leicester, winning three and drawing three.
Riyad Mahrez has scored seven goals and assisted three in his last nine PL appearances.
Leicester are the first team since Everton in 2012 (6) to claim at least a point from behind in four successive Premier League fixtures.
Leicester are unbeaten after six games for only the second time in a PL season (they were unbeaten through eight in 2000-01).

What's next?

Stoke travel to Fulham in the third round of the League Cup on Tuesday (19:45 BST), while Leicester host West Ham in the same competition on the same night.

Line-ups
Match Stats
Live Text

Line-ups

Stoke

Formation 4-2-3-1

1Butland
8Johnson
20Cameron
12Wilson
3Pieters
6Whelan
15Van GinkelSubstituted forIrelandat 79'minutes
22Shaqiri
27BojanBooked at 70minsSubstituted forOdemwingieat 82'minutes
10ArnautovicSubstituted forCrouchat 75'minutes
19Walters

Substitutes

5Muniesa
7Ireland
9Odemwingie
11Joselu
24Given
25Crouch
26Wollscheid

Leicester

Formation 4-4-2

1Schmeichel
2de Laet
6Huth
5Morgan
15SchluppBooked at 81mins
26MahrezBooked at 58mins
4DrinkwaterBooked at 78mins
33InlerSubstituted forAlbrightonat 45'minutes
14KantéBooked at 60minsSubstituted forKingat 86'minutes
20OkazakiSubstituted forUlloaat 64'minutes
9Vardy

Substitutes

10King
11Albrighton
17Simpson
19Kramaric
23Ulloa
29Benalouane
32Schwarzer

Referee:: Andre Marriner
Attendance:: 27,642

Match Stats

Home TeamStokeAway TeamLeicester

Possession: Home54%; Away46%

Shots: Home11; Away12

Shots on Target: Home4; Away5

Corners: Home3; Away4

Fouls: Home7; Away12

Live Text

Post update
Match ends, Stoke City 2, Leicester City 2.
90'+6'
Full Time
Second Half ends, Stoke City 2, Leicester City 2.

90'+4'
Post update
Attempt missed. Jamie Vardy (Leicester City) right footed shot from outside the box is close, but misses to the right. Assisted by Leonardo Ulloa.
86'
Post update
Geoff Cameron (Stoke City) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
86'
Post update
Foul by Jamie Vardy (Leicester City).
86'
Substitution
Substitution, Leicester City. Andy King replaces N'Golo Kanté because of an injury.
86'
Post update
Foul by Jonathan Walters (Stoke City).
86'
Post update
Wes Morgan (Leicester City) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
85'
Post update
Delay over. They are ready to continue.
85'
Post update
Delay in match N'Golo Kanté (Leicester City) because of an injury.
82'
Substitution
Substitution, Stoke City. Peter Odemwingie replaces Bojan.
82'
Post update
Offside, Stoke City. Erik Pieters tries a through ball, but Peter Crouch is caught offside.
81'
Post update
Attempt saved. Xherdan Shaqiri (Stoke City) left footed shot from outside the box is saved in the bottom left corner.
81'
Booking
Jeffrey Schlupp (Leicester City) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
80'
Post update
Xherdan Shaqiri (Stoke City) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
80'
Post update
Foul by Jeffrey Schlupp (Leicester City).
79'
Substitution
Substitution, Stoke City. Stephen Ireland replaces Marco Van Ginkel.
78'
Post update
Attempt missed. Geoff Cameron (Stoke City) header from the centre of the box is close, but misses to the right. Assisted by Xherdan Shaqiri with a cross following a set piece situation.
78'
Booking
Daniel Drinkwater (Leicester City) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
78'
Post update
Jonathan Walters (Stoke City) wins a free kick in the attacking half.

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