Wolverhampton Wanderers 0-0 Leicester City: Foxes’ title hopes suffer blow

Fabio Silva had the best chance of the game but was rejected by Kasper Schmeichel

Leicester City’s hopes of winning the Premier League title suffered a blow after tying a goalless draw with Midlands rivals Wolves.

Brendan Rodgers’ side are in third place, four points behind leaders Manchester City, who face champions Liverpool at 16:30 GMT, and have one more game up for grabs.

The visitors have had a great away record this season but have been flat for large periods of the competition and have not been able to fully test Rui Patricio.

The Wolves’ goalkeeper garnered a few drives from James Maddison, but efforts were out of reach and comfortably kept away.

Striker Jamie Vardy returned after an hour from an injury and almost won it over time, but went far from a promising position.

The Wolves only had one shot on goal during the entire game, although that was the best chance for both sides. The low goal of substitute Fabio Silva from close range was fought off perfectly by Kasper Schmeichel.

Nuno Espirito Santo’s side beat Arsenal last time, but won only once in 10 league games and remain 14th in the table.

Leicester held dull

Leicester stunned English football when it won a shocking Premier League title just five years ago. However, he will feel that this was a missed opportunity to repeat the feat.

Rodgers’ side extended their run to defeat in 10 games but failed to score points with runner-up Manchester United, held late at home by Everton on Saturday.

The draw means Leicester has accumulated 27 points in its travels this season, most of them alongside the Red Devils. However, a poor performance in front of goal means they haven’t scored away for the second time this season.

Playmaker Maddison tried to weave his magic but was limited to strikes from a distance, while Kelechi shattered Iheanacho from an angle wide.

Harvey Barnes had a low shot that was brilliantly blocked by Max Kilman and Vardy, who missed three games with hernia surgery. He almost had a dramatic impact on his return, but sent a header out in the 92nd minute.

Rating problems for wolves

Wolves have ranked seventh twice since their return to the Premier League in 2018 and are below the high standards they have set themselves.

Nuno’s side have only scored 23 goals in 23 games this season and have not scored for the eighth time. Talisman striker Raul Jimenez is missing in the opposing area.

Pedro Neto and Adama Traore often beat their opposing full-backs but couldn’t find a teammate with their last pass, while Willian Jose barely sniffed in January.

Ruben Neves shot twice from decent positions in the first half and they could have scored when the ball fell on Silva eight meters from target, but his side-foot shot was splendidly deflected by Schmeichel’s outstretched foot.

More will follow.

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