by Teamtalk

Two goals from Michael Owen earned the Reds a 2-2 at Leicester, but will be disappointed not to have won after conceding a 86th minute equaliser.

Despite leading for the majority of the second half, the Reds were forced to do it 'the hard way' after conceding a goal after just 80 seconds of play.

And it was Tony Cottee who gave Leicester the dream start after latching onto a Muzzy Izzet pass and amidst hesitant Liverpool defending, the former Everton striker chipped expertly over Sander Westerveld.

Owen was soon in the thick of things and he came close to getting Liverpool back on level terms when he latched onto a Titi Camara cross but saw his header rebound off Peggy Arphexad's post. The rebound fell to Patrick Berger, but he failed to make the most of the opportunity.

Liverpool, however, soon got themselves back on level terms when Berger's run into the box was ended by a combination of Gerry Taggart and Matt Elliott. Owen made no mistake from the penalty spot, sending Arphexad the wrong way after the little shimmy in his run-up had sent the French stopper the wrong way.

The Reds soon took the lead when a blistering 50 yard burst from Camara left Robbie Savage for dead and he squared to Matteo, who in turn fed Owen, who cooly slotted home. Heskey was unfortunate not to square things up just before the interval when he put the ball into the net, only to see it chalked off for offside by referee Uriah Rennie.

Leicester's cause wasn't helped when Frank Sinclair received his second yellow card of the game after fouling Camara after the former Marseille ace had nutmegged him. Sinclair had previously been booked in the first half for pulling Owen's shirt.

Liverpool brought on Eric Meijer for Titi Camara, whilst Leicester introduced Oakes for Andy Impey.

With nine minutes remaining in the game, Leicester, against all the odds, managed to grab an equaliser when Izzet chested down the ball and lashed it gleefully past Westerveld to earn a share of the spoils for Martin O'Neill's side.

However, the drama did not end there and in a frantic finish Reds' substitute Danny Murphy hit the Foxes crossbar, and as Liverpool's frustration mounted, David Thompson received his marching orders after collecting his second booking of the afternoon.

Leceister : Arphexad, Sinclair, Taggart, Elliott, Impey (Oakes, 60), Savage, Lennon, Izzet, Guppy, Heskey, Cottee (Gilchrist, 66).
Unused subs : Fenton, Zagorakis, Fettis
Scorers : Cottee (2nd), Izzet (86th)
Bookings : Sinclair
Sentoff : Sinclair (51st)

Liverpool : Westerveld, Matteo, Hyypia, Heggem, Carragher, Berger, Thompson, Redknapp (Murphy, 78), Gerrard, Camara (Meijer, 55), Owen.
Unused subs : Song, Staunton, Friedel
Scorers : Owen (23rd pen, 39th)
Bookings : Gerrard
Sentoff : Thompson (89th)

Referee : Uriah Rennie (Sheffield)

Attendance : 21,623