Leicester 2-3 Tottenham: Steven Bergwijn scores twice in injury time to give Spurs dramatic win
By Michael EmonsBBC Sport
Last updated on .From the section Premier League
Steven Bergwijn scored two injury-time goals as Tottenham fought back from 2-1 down to snatch an incredible victory at Leicester in a thrilling finish at the King Power Stadium.
Leicester were moments away from inflicting a first Premier League defeat on Spurs since Antonio Conte took charge, before Bergwijn grabbed a 95th-minute equaliser from Matt Doherty’s pass.
But there was more drama to come.
The Dutchman, who had only been introduced as a 79th-minute substitute, then took the ball around goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel in the seventh minute of stoppage time and scored the winner with the ball going in off the post.
It was a fitting finale to an brilliant match.
The Foxes had taken the lead against the run of play in the 24th minute with Patson Daka’s clinical finish over visiting goalkeeper Hugo Lloris with the hosts’ first shot on target.
But Harry Kane, who had earlier had a shot cleared off the line and also hit the crossbar, equalised just before half-time, collecting Harry Winks’ ball forward, cutting inside Caglar Soyuncu and side-footing past Schmeichel.
James Maddison then put Leicester ahead in the 76th minute after he had linked up well with substitute Harvey Barnes and the hosts thought they were collecting the three points before Bergwijn’s dramatic double.
Tottenham’s win takes them above north London rivals Arsenal and up to fifth in the Premier League, while Leicester are 10th in the table.
Kane and Maddison impress in front of watching Southgate
Leicester were playing for the first time in the Premier League in 2022 after games against Norwich, Everton and Burnley had been postponed because of Covid-19, while this match had originally been scheduled to take place on 16 December.
The Foxes were without top scorer Jamie Vardy because of a thigh injury, while Nigeria’s Kelechi Iheanacho is on international duty at the Africa Cup of Nations in Cameroon.
Daka was making only his third Premier League start and he took his opportunity in style, finishing well after a challenge from Tottenham’s Sergio Reguilon saw the ball drop into his path.
That goal came after Spurs had missed numerous chances, with two shots cleared off the line and a Kane header bouncing off the crossbar.
Kane, who impressed throughout, then registered only his fifth Premier League goal of the season, although he has also netted eight times in cup games in 2021-22 as well as scoring 10 for his country.
It also brought up a landmark for the England captain as the goal was his 250th in club matches.
The performance of Maddison, capped once by the Three Lions in 2019 but pushing for a recall, would have also been pleasing for watching England boss Gareth Southgate.
The Leicester midfielder produced two fine saves from Lloris, one in each half, before getting the goal his play deserved after he linked up with Barnes, who had only been on the field for a minute before getting the assist.
In Maddison’s last 11 appearances in all competitions, he has now been directly involved in 13 goals – eight goals and five assists.
Spurs had not been beaten in the Premier League since they lost 1-0 at West Ham on 24 October when Nuno Espirito Santo was in charge.
But Conte maintained his unbeaten league run in the most dramatic of fashions, with not one, but two goals deep into added time.
The victory also set a new Premier League feat as Spurs were behind at 94 minutes, 52 seconds – the latest time a team has been behind before winning a Premier League match.
The previous mark had been back in May 2012 when Manchester City were trailing 2-1 at home to QPR after 91 minutes, 14 seconds before goals from Edin Dzeko and, famously, Sergio Aguero clinched City’s first Premier League title.
