Leicester City 1-1 Portsmouth: Swift leads second-half revival against stuttering hosts

Leicester City lost more ground at the Championship summit, after they were pegged back by Portsmouth in a 1-1 draw at King Power Stadium on Saturday. 

The Foxes are now five points adrift of league leaders Coventry City, who extended their unbeaten start to the season to 10 matches after victory over Blackburn Rovers earlier in the day. 

The hosts' dominance was rewarded in the 26th minute when Aaron Ramsey acrobatically turned Abdul Fatawu's cross into the box beyond the grasp of Josef Bursik. 

Portsmouth responded brightly, though, as Yang Min-Hyeok's fierce volley rattled the crossbar, before Ramsey forced Bursik into a smart stop moments later at the other end. 

Fatawu continued to look lively and saw a fine attempt repelled by visiting goalkeeper Bursik, with Harry Winks then trying his luck from distance, but he fired wide of the mark.

However, Marti Cifuentes' side were unable to add to their lead before half-time, and a slow start after the break allowed Portsmouth back into the contest just before the hour. 

Julian Carranza cheaply lost possession, which saw a lightning counter-attack finished off by John Swift, whose left-footed strike beat Jakub Stolarczyk at his near post. 

And Portsmouth's continued improvement in the second half almost got them ahead, only for Stolarczyk to produce a wonderful save from close range to deny Florian Bianchini. 

But Leicester missed a glorious chance to steal all three points in the final minute of second-half stoppage time, but Luke Thomas was unable to convert Hamza Choudhury's excellent cross at the back post.

Data Debrief: A game of two halves

Leicester appeared on course for a routine home win following Ramsey's opener, but they took their foot off the gas when they came out for the second half, and that proved costly for the Foxes, who fell further behind the chasing pack. 

Indeed, the hosts registered an expected goals (xG) total of 1.38 from their 19 shots throughout the match, with 12 of those coming in the first half, though only six of those were on target for the entirety of the game. 

John Mousinho's team, however, were rejuvenated as they earned a rare point on the road, with their xG metric improving to 0.86 after the break having generated a total of just 0.04 from their sole attempt in the first 45 minutes.