Shakespeare’s undefeated run ends in goal-heavy 4-2 defeat at Everton

Heading into Wednesday’s Champions League quarterfinal matchup with Atlético Madrid, Leicester boss Craig Shakespeare would have hoped for a better result in the league.

A whirlwind first half saw the visiting Foxes, who had made five changes to their starting XI, go into the break at Goodison down 3-2 after five separate goal-scorers tallied to give Everton the lead

Trailing after under a minute thanks to fantastic solo effort goal from Tom Davies, Leicester would be required to play from behind...though not for long.

Set off on a break just three minutes after Davies tally, Demarai Gray showed his blinding pace and expert ball control to set up Slimani who finished cooly through the legs of Joel Robles to tie things up at 1-1. A mere six minutes later, Marc Albrighton’s free kick from the far side of the pitch fooled Robles and ended up in the top corner to pull the Foxes ahead 2-1.

Photo by Michael Regan/Getty Images

The fun would end there for the visitors who would get to see first hand why Romelu Lukaku is one of the most sought after forwards in all of Europe. The Premier League’s leading scorer notched a pair of goals in the 23rd and 57th minute to first tie the score at 2-2 and then extend Everton’s lead to 4-2 following a Phil Jagielka header in the 41st.

The powerful Belgian caused trouble for Leicester all day in the middle of the box and showed how badly the club misses captain and defensive stalwart Wes Morgan in the middle.

Filling in for Morgan has been the rarely-used Yohan Benalouane who looked a bit off the pace in this six-goal thriller on Merseyside.

There will be no time for lamenting this contest however as the Foxes will take the trip across the channel to Spain for their highly anticipated Champions League quarterfinal first leg against Atlético Madrid at the Vicente Calderon on Wednesday.

Stay here with the Fosse Posse for more on the club’s history quarterfinal tie.