Talking points from Leicester City’s 2-2 draw with Preston, looking at their shot count, the goals they conceded, Patson Daka’s display, the crowd response, and the relegation battle
Jordan Blackwell
12:01, 04 Apr 2026
Gary Rowett during Leicester City’s 2-2 draw with Preston(Image: Plumb Images/Leicester City FC via Getty Images)
The last time Leicester City had this many shots in a league match, they celebrated the greatest moment in their history. Now, they could be on the verge of sinking to their lowest ebb.
Not since taking 32 shots against Everton on the day they lifted the Premier League title 10 years ago have they peppered a goal like they did on Friday. But in scoring from just two of their 28 efforts against Preston, they came away with a measly draw.
The game state was a factor. City may not have needed to take so many shots had they not been desperately seeking an equaliser. Plus, it’s not that there were a swathe of clear-cut chances. Many of the efforts they mustered were pot-shots.
But still, they did enough to deserve to win. They had 20 more efforts than Preston, which is a season’s best, equalling the victory over Sheffield Wednesday on the opening day. Bar 15 minutes at the end of the first half, they were in full control.
It was the sort of performance that, had it happened even two months ago, would be described as boding well.
There were few if any games under Marti Cifuentes where City lost or drew but deserved more. Usually, it was the opposite. They were lucky to come away with three points on more than one occasion.
But that’s now two, maybe three games under Rowett – given the balance of chances against Watford and Stoke – where they could count themselves unfortunate not to win. Albeit, they were perhaps lucky to come away with a draw at Ipswich on the balance of play.
The problem is that they are at a stage of the season where a performance boding well is not really much use.
They need wins now, not in a few weeks’ time. By then it could be over. It means they have to do more, they have to get even better.
City ‘plagued’ but Rowett explanations don’t stack up
City didn’t claim three points because of an issue that has “plagued” them all season. They simply gave up their grip on the match for a 15-minute period, conceding twice.
That’s now 11 times from 20 games this season that City have failed to win a fixture in which they scored first. It’s the worst record in the league outside of Sheffield Wednesday.
Gary Rowett said: “We had good control in the first half, out of possession as well. But then it’s something that has plagued the team all season, it doesn’t matter who the manager is.
“It seems to be the same thing where we go from 1-0 up and a really good display to suddenly being 2-1 down without the opposition really having to do too much to get into that position.”
Asked if he had any inkling why it might be happening, Rowett suggested the squad has not been put together to endure spells where they’re not in charge of the ball.
He said: “When you build a squad to dominate games with possession and expect to be higher up in the table, it means you perhaps don’t have one or two types of players to play a certain way. That’s what it is.
“If it’s a ball in the box and we just keep conceding the header, then you can look at ways to rectify that, but they’re all different. They’re all individual errors.
“That’s the frustration. I don’t think they’re structural, I don’t think they’re tactical. They’re just little moments.
“But when we make one, we then tend to make another one, which is perhaps the hardest thing.”
Leicester City’s Jakub Stolarczyk is beaten by a header from Preston North End’s Ben Whiteman as he scores his side’s second goal during the Sky Bet Championship match between Leicester City and Preston North End at The King Power Stadium
Those points are arguable. For the first Preston goal, it was indeed an individual error from Abdul Fatawu. But it also feels like a structural issue that a winger can miscontrol a throw-in midway into the opposition’s half and within a split-second it’s a huge chance.
The set-up was wrong. Harry Winks and arguably Oliver Skipp too should not have been stationed as high as they were.
It’s the same for the second. If Ben Whiteman had leaped above a City man to head in, Rowett’s point is perhaps understandable. City’s squad is not the biggest nor most physical.
But it was a free header. It’s not clear who was supposed to mark him. Maybe Skipp, maybe Fatawu. That is a structural and tactical problem. Both of those goals are moments that Rowett and his staff can solve.
The other question mark, and perhaps something Rowett has less sway over, is about the mental fragility of the team. It’s not that they would necessarily be expected to play brilliantly for a full 90 minutes, but they should not fall to the levels they do during the moments where they’re not on top, nor should they routinely concede twice in quick succession.
The one positive this time is that City did respond after the break. Against QPR in their last home game, the slump continued after half-time. On this occasion, they came out for the second half and dominated.
Daka’s indefatiguable spirit in best showing since Moscow
Preston boss Paul Heckingbottom joked that his side set up all four goals, with Patson Daka capitalising on mistakes to score his first City brace in more than two years.
It might be framed that City were lucky, then, to even get on the scoresheet. But mistakes don’t automatically lead to goals.
Andrew Moran’s wayward back-pass and Pol Valentin’s poor control may have been easily mopped up by Preston team-mates if Daka had not had the speed, urgency and anticipation to pounce.
As with Daka’s goal at home to Southampton in February, it would not have happened if Jordan Ayew was up front.
Daka has now scored more non-penalty goals than his fellow striker and this showing proved, fitness pending, that he has to be the number one for the rest of the season, especially with Rowett saying he won’t look beyond those two.
Because even beyond the goals, it was a terrific showing from the striker, perhaps his best since Moscow.
He ran the channels and pressed brilliantly, pinching the ball all afternoon, while his first touch, something that often can let him down, was excellent.
Daka had the quickest turnaround and the longest journey of any player on international duty for City, so to show that much pace and commitment is testament to his energy levels, but also, especially after big misses at Watford, to his indefatigable spirit.
Patson Daka of Leicester City celebrates scoring his team’s first goal during the Sky Bet Championship match between Leicester City and Preston North End at The King Power Stadium
Two crowd moments stand out as supporters provide backing
Amid protests over the running of the club, there have been sections of the fanbase that have suggested those expressing their frustration are dragging the team down and distracting from the task at hand.
Rowett, having previously said fans were free to have their own opinions, asked this week for fans to put their frustrations to one side until the summer.
It’s not that the fans would ever be to blame, but they certainly couldn’t be after the support they showed on Friday.
There was one telling moment just after the second Preston goal went in. Rather than boo and moan, there were encouraging chants of “Come on, Leicester!” from the Kop. They were trying to spur their team back into life. The boos was saved until half-time.
“I thought the crowd were outstanding,” Rowett said. “It really helped the players. I asked before the game for them to help the team and I thought they did. I thought they were brilliant today.
“It could have been easy for them to start grumbling when the second one went in. Because I’ll be honest, I was grumbling on the bench, so I wouldn’t have blamed them.
“But they stayed behind us. I think they saw a team trying everything they could to win the game.”
There was only one moment where the crowd perhaps influenced the game in a negative way, with audible irritation at a lack of urgency with the ball at Jakub Stolarczyk’s feet early in the second half.
The goalkeeper then went long and gave the ball away. Harry Winks turned around, his hand signals suggesting he was telling Stolarczyk not to listen to the crowd.
But otherwise, this was a crowd that got behind their team and is doing their best to help them avoid relegation.
Better form needed for competitive relegation battle
The results show that it’s an almighty task to steer clear of the drop. All five of the teams battling to dodge those final two relegation places all picked up at least a point on Friday.
This is what happens in the Championship. The league is so competitive, and there’s so little between the quality of the teams, that with their futures on the line, the sides at the bottom do quite frequently pull off surprise results, perhaps to the point that they’re no longer a surprise.
On paper, City had the easiest of the fixtures. They’ve failed to win. West Brom and Oxford picked up a draw against promotion hopefuls. Portsmouth grabbed a point at one of the in-form teams in the league. Blackburn won away from home.
Mid-table form would usually save a relegation battler in this scenario, but City may need more than that.
A run of four matches against Bristol City, QPR, Watford, and Preston, all sides in mid-table felt like a prime opportunity for City to jump up the standings. They’ve picked up five points and are still in the bottom three.
They really do need to beat Sheffield Wednesday and Swansea now, two teams with little to play for but pride, so that they’re in an advantageous position come those final four fixtures against relegation rivals and promotion chasers.
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