What Leicester manager said about Maddison’s dive
By Will Kennedy
Leicester City’s frustrating season continued on Saturday with a 0-0 draw at home to Crystal Palace. The tie gave the Foxes a chance to make up for the 2-1 loss to Bournemouth a week before, instead the points were shared in the lacklustre stalemate.
In a game that failed to come to life, one man did make headlines – as he is used to doing at Leicester – but not in the way he’d have wanted. James Maddison has enjoyed a fantastic start to the campaign amid the chaos around him but was found guilty of trying to deceive the referee in the final moments of the game, a costly action that sees him suspended for the crucial fixture against Leeds on Thursday.
Already on four yellow cards this season, Maddison cynically went to ground in the Palace penalty box in the 94th minute of the game as he attempted to buy his team a winning penalty. The referee, Andy Madley, saw right through the midfielder’s antics and swiftly gave Maddison his fifth yellow in only nine Premier League games, thus suspending him for Thursday.
It was a moment of desperation and madness, though not surprising given the frustration of the afternoon. Twice in the second half Maddison missed clear chances as he tried to impress the onlooking Gareth Southgate.