Leicester City ratings v Palace as dreadful display punished in injury time

It was a dreadful performance from City, bar the first 10 minutes of the second half, and that will cause just as much worry over their Premier League future as the result. Palace were dominant and created chances at will, their 31st shot grabbing their second goal with moments remaining in the match.

City had been peppered in the first half, but managed to go in goalless and then took the lead through substitute Ricardo Pereira in their one good spell. Eberechi Eze's free-kick hit Daniel Iversen to find the net as Palace equalised moments later, and the Eagles pushed for a winner they got at the death.

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City made two changes to the team that drew at Brentford, bringing Wout Faes and fit-again Victor Kristiansen into the back four in place of Daniel Amartey and Ricardo. Rodgers, as he said he would, kept faith in Iversen in goal, and the Dane was integral to the game being goalless at the break, with City producing one of their worst halves of the season.

The first 45 minutes ended with Palace having had 20 shots to City's none, the hosts finding it far too easy to move the ball into the box and create chances. It was the most attempts any Premier League side had had in a first half for seven years.

Iversen was required to save four of those shots, parrying away well to deny Eberechi Eze and Wilfried Zaha in particular. But City were also required to put in goal-saving blocks, Faes and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall getting their bodies in the way.

City were hopeless in attack, launching balls to Patson Daka that he couldn't control. But they did actually come close to scoring when Kristiansen's scuffed cross bounced off the inside of a post.

Rodgers brought on Ricardo for Tete at half-time, and City made an immediate improvement. Castagne, pushed forward onto the right wing, had a shot blocked and then James Maddison, anonymous in the first half, was denied by the feet of Vicente Guaita.

They kept building the pressure and got their goal through Ricardo, his first in 14 months. Wilfred Ndidi's raking pass found Castagne in space, and he knocked the ball back to Ricardo to slam into the top corner. It was the first time in 2023 that City had scored first in a league game.

But their lead didn't last long. Eze lined up a free-kick from 25 yards and curled a superb effort onto the underside of the bar that hit the unfortunate Iversen on the back before trickling over the line.

Palace were then on top for the remainder of the game, but not to the extent of the first half. Iversen was needed to save a couple more shots from distance, while Harry Souttar was perhaps lucky not to give away a penalty, but just as City looked like they had escaped with a draw, they conceded.

Jordan Ayew fed a pass forward to Mateta, who spun Souttar and finished past Iversen. It was about the last kick of the game.

City are now even deeper in trouble and sit in the relegation zone. Here's how we scored the players.

Daniel Iversen: On this showing, he could be decisive in City staying up. The team were so poor ahead of him that he was pivotal to ensuring they were not thrashed, the Dane making a string of solid stops, showing good positioning, concentration, and strong hands. Unfortunate for the own goal. 8

Timothy Castagne: Given the difficult task of facing Zaha, he did little to stop him being effective in the first half. Pushed further forward, he was better, getting into good positions and setting up Ricardo's goal. 4

Harry Souttar: Whether he was tired after the long trip to Australia, or whether he was still suffering with an ankle problem, this was a shoddy performance from Souttar. He was booked for a piece of weak defending, was lucky not to concede a penalty, and then let Mateta spin him for the last-minute winner. 3

Wout Faes: Despite the chances City conceded, Faes was not really ever at blame. In fact, his decent positioning and timely blocks helped protect Iversen a little. 6

Victor Kristiansen: Not the best of returns to the side from the left-back. He was aimless in his passing, lumping the ball forward too often, earned a yellow card with a piece of poor defending, and didn't affect the game in a defensive aspect either. His overlapping runs nearly bought him a flukey goal. 4

Wilfred Ndidi: He was busy but very really effective. He chased the game, never getting that close to Palace's midfielders to stop them building play, even giving the ball back to them in dangerous areas at times. His crossfield pass to help set up the goal was his only bright moment. 3

Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall: In the first half, he was excellent in his own box, reading play well to make important blocks. But he was also bypassed too easily at times and was really wasteful on the ball. He improved, did terrifically well to set up Maddison's big chance, and ran hard. 5

James Maddison: He was barely involved, which is very unlike him. When he did get on the ball, he did very little of note with it, even putting passes straight into the stands. He had one chance in the second half, when his movement was better, but otherwise, this was his worst performance in recent memory. 3

Tete: Although he was poor, and was hooked at half-time, he was no worse than anybody else. He looked energetic when he got on the ball, but was nowhere near strong enough physically to cause Palace problems, the hosts bullying him off the ball. He tried to help out defensively. 4

Patson Daka: He was totally ineffective, but mostly because City kept launching the ball to him, making him compete in battles with Andersen and Guehi that he was never going to win. His one chance to get in behind came when Dewsbury-Hall fed him the ball, but he failed to bring it under control. 4

Harvey Barnes: He found Kristiansen's overlapping runs in the first half, and City looked more of a threat when their long balls were pinged towards him. But that threat died down quickly and he barely touched the ball in the final half-hour. 4

Ricardo Pereira: With Zaha off injured, he was able to get forward, and he made good use of the space to score a brilliant goal. He defended well too, even after appearing to injure himself, making a crucial header just before Palace's winner. 7

Luke Thomas: He was quick to press Olise, and limited the winger's joy on his flank. He fed good balls forward too. 5

Kelechi Iheanacho: City were well on the back foot when he came on, but he didn't do a lot anyway. One dribble that earned a free-kick was his highlight. 4