Leicester only deserved a point, says Cooper

Leicester City have to accept “a point is all they deserved” according to manager Steve Cooper, after drawing 1-1 with Everton in the Premier League.

The East Midlands outfit remain without a win in their opening five matches, with three draws and two losses.

Stephy Mavididi salvaged a point at the King Power Stadium after Iliman Ndiaye had put Everton a goal to the good after 12 minutes.

Cooper believes it was all the hosts could have asked for after a disappointing first-half showing in which they managed just one shot on target and created an expected goals of just 0.15.

“We were nowhere near the level first half, I won’t hide away from that. We were deservedly losing the game, and we were second best in the fundamentals,” he told BBC MOTD.

“It was accepted by the players that things had to change at half-time, and we had to be better. That was a must for the second half. The boys stuck to the task in the second half and got themselves together and didn’t go under.

“We got ourselves level with the set-piece. We pushed on to get the winner, and it didn’t quite happen.

“The game could have been better, but it could have been worse, and we have to accept that the point is all we deserved today.”

4 – Everton haven’t gone on to win any of their last four Premier League games when opening the scoring (D1 L3), while they’ve dropped more points from winning positions than any other side in the competition in 2024 (18). Wasted. pic.twitter.com/HqGcVtPBys

— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) September 21, 2024

The fixture boasts the most draws in the history of the Premier League. 17 out of the 35 matches the two sides have played have ended in draws, which is the highest proportion for any fixture to have been played 30+ times in the competition (49%).

Everton also remain without a win but registered their first point of the season by holding on to the draw.

Manager Sean Dyche was optimistic about his side’s trajectory after the final whistle.

“It was a positive display. There have been question marks around us not winning, but we have got our nose in front and I thought we delivered a good performance,” he said.

“We know we have to take chances. We created enough again today to be more than one goal in front but generally a positive display.

“Lots of positive signs. A ball falls to them in an unfortunate moment and that is the way it is going at the moment, but I thought that there was a big shift in our play today.”

Dyche remains unconcerned despite Everton having dropped the most points from winning positions of any Premier League side in 2024 (18).

“I look at it as it is. There are positive signs that we are moving closer to the way we want to play. We are still moulding a group together that can do what we want to do, so it is a constant work in progress,” he reflected.