Leicester City earned their second point of the Premier League season on Saturday as Steve Cooper oversaw a 2-2 draw away at Crystal Palace.
Steve Cooper would have identified Crystal Palace as an opportunity for his Leicester City side to get their first league win of the season, so will have been left gutted by the fact they conceded a 92nd-minute penalty to draw.
Goals from Jamie Vardy and then Stephy Mavididi on his first league start of the season put Leicester 2-0 up before they were pegged back by a goal from Jean-Philippe Mateta a minute later.
Conor Coady recklessly brought down Ismaila Sarr in second-half stoppage time to allow Mateta the opportunity to snatch a point for Palace and it was one he took.
Despite the sucker-punch late in the game, there were plenty of positives to take away from Selhurst Park on Saturday.
Oliver Skipp shows his worth for Leicester City against Crystal Palace
After Cooper’s midfield trio of Oliver Skipp, Harry Winks and Wilfred Ndidi had a difficult afternoon against Aston Villa ahead of the international break it was a surprise to see the three in from the start again against Palace.
Ndidi was particularly poor in the Villa loss but retained his place as the advanced midfielder and delivered with an assist for Mavididi’s goal in a much-improved display.
However, it was his midfield partner and £20 million summer signing Skipp that really shone at Palace, with Leicestershire Live rating his performance an eight out of ten, commenting: “Really, really good. He’s looking like an excellent addition.
“His passing at the top end was clever and intricate, while he has the lungs to run hard for 90 minutes, meaning he can make a difference all over the pitch.
“He did a great job of contributing to the defensive effort, and charging up the pitch with the ball.”
The statistics behind impressive Skipp performance for Leicester City
Eyebrows were raised when Leicester paid Tottenham Hotspur a fee that could rise as high as £25 million to sign Skipp this summer.
The 23-year-old is a player that Cooper was really keen on signing, though, and his display at Palace showed why.
According to Sofascore, Skipp had 53 touches in the 2-2 draw, as well as making two key passes.
From a defensive standpoint, Skipp won seven duels and made two clearances; showing that he is willing to do both sides of the game for his side.
Next up for Leicester is a huge game at home against bottom of the table Everton and Cooper will be confident his new look midfield can help secure that elusive first Premier League win of the new season.