Stoke City 2 Leicester City 2: Champions grab draw after Vardy red

Daniel Amartey scored a dramatic late equaliser as 10-man Leicester City overcame Jamie Vardy’s red card to earn a 2-2 draw at Stoke City on Saturday.

Vardy was controversially sent off midway through the first half for a challenge on Mame Biram Diouf, while referee Craig Pawson also awarded Stoke a penalty after Bojan Krkic’s cross was handled by Danny Simpson.

Bojan netted from the spot and Joe Allen looked to have killed off the match in first-half stoppage-time with his fifth top-flight goal of the season – the strike giving him more goals this season than his previous four combined.

Claudio Ranieri was furious with Pawson but he had late hope when substitute Leonardo Ulloa headed in his first Premier League goal of the campaign.

And Amartey scored with a header of his own with two minutes left on the clock – his first Leicester goal – as the champions salvaged a thrilling point, repeating their two-goal comeback away to Stoke from last season.

Stoke are now winless in three league matches and sit 11th in the table after their late collapse.

Leicester, meanwhile, drop to 15th and sit just three points clear of the relegation zone, but will take confidence from only their second point in nine away matches this season.

A lively start to the match saw Kasper Schmeichel – back in Leicester’s team as one of two changes – save from Jonathan Walters, before Lee Grant made a magnificent stop from Robert Huth’s looping header at the other end.

Vardy’ sending off was the match’s big talking point. The England striker initially left the ground as he slid in to challenge Diouf, but then appeared to win the ball cleanly and was stunned when Pawson brandished a red.

Pawson was in the spotlight again when he pointed to the spot. Bojan surged down the left and saw his cross blocked by Danny Simpson’s arm, before sending Schmeichel the wrong way from the resulting penalty after 39 minutes.

It was then two in the third minute of first-half stoppage time. Giannelli Imbula’s strike bounced off the post and rebounded off Schmeichel’s back, presenting Allen with a simple finish.

Leicester went into the break having received five yellow cards in addition to Vardy’s red, with Ranieri fuming with Pawson as the teams went down the tunnel.

Schmeichel made an excellent one-handed save from Walters’ header after the break, before racing out to deny Allen his second of the afternoon after he had been slipped through by Glen Johnson.

Ranieri’s introduced Ulloa and Demarai Gray for the closing stages and the duo immediately combined with 16 minutes remaining.

Gray whipped in a cross from the right and Ulloa sent his header back across the face of goal to beat Grant, with the ball crossing the line before Ryan Shawcross could clear.

And an astonishing comeback was complete when Amartey sent a thumping header past Grant from Christian Fuchs’ magnificent cross.

Key Opta stats:

– Stoke are yet to win a Premier League home game versus Leicester (W0 D2 L1) – the only side they have faced more than once at home in the competition but not won against.
– This was the 14th occasion that Leicester City were shown a red card in a Premier League game but avoided defeat and the first time since May versus Manchester Utd.
– The Foxes have already shipped more away goals this season (21) than they managed in all of 2015-16 on the road (18).

– Jamie Vardy is one of two players to be sent off twice in the Premier League in 2016 (also Victor Wanyama).