Ten-man Leicester City had substitute Ricardo Pereira to thank for rescuing a 2-2 draw at Oxford United, as an absorbing Championship contest swung one way and then the other at the Kassam Stadium. Oxford twice led against a side that has climbed to the top of English football in the three decades since Leicester last visited, but Marti Cifuentes' high-flying Foxes showed resilience and quality to escape with a point after Aaron Ramsey's first-half red card.
Will Lankshear's early strike and a Ben Davies header that deflected in off Boubakary Soumare had Gary Rowett's team in front at the interval, either side of Jordan Ayew's equaliser gifted by a Cameron Brannagan back-pass. Ramsey's dismissal left Leicester a man down for almost 70 minutes, yet Cifuentes' half-time changes paid off, with captain Pereira striking a clinical low shot ten minutes into the second half. Both sides pushed for a winner, Leicester had late penalty appeals waved away, and the draw left Oxford still searching for a first league win of the season despite a display full of intent.
Oxford Strike First In Breathless Opening
Oxford began the day 18 places below Leicester in the table and without a league victory, but they took the game to their visitors from the outset. Roared on at the Kassam, Rowett's side played with aggression and purpose, unsettling a Leicester team that never quite found its flow in the opening stages. The reward came in the ninth minute, and it was born of Oxford's willingness to commit players forward.