Nigerian forward Kelechi Iheanacho’s equalizer earned Leicester City a 1-1 draw against Aston Villa in their Carabao Cup semi-final, first leg match at King Power Stadium on Wednesday.
Iheanacho, who had come off the bench in the 69th minute, collected Jamie Vardy’s pass and struck a powerful effort past Ørjan Håskjold Nyland five minutes later.
It was the Nigerian’s third goal in three appearances in this season’s Carabao Cup and his 6th goal in eight appearances in all competitions this season.
Frederic Guilbert had given the visitors the lead against the run of play in the 28th minute.
The second leg will take place at Villa Park on January 28.
“I think it wasn’t a bad result, we got the draw. Of course, we have a Premier League game next, but I think we’ll concentrate on that then we’ll get to Villa Park and see what happens,” Iheanacho said after the match.
Meanwhile, Leicester boss Brendan Rodgers confirmed that Nigerian Wilfred Ndidi is expected to undergo a small operation on Thursday following what he described as “a knock in training”.
Ndidi was not named in the match-day squad for the Carabao Cup.
Leicester, second in the Premier League behind Liverpool, will host Southampton on Saturday at 1500GMT.
