Brendan Rodgers is judging James Maddison differently as Leicester City heist remains possible

It is a sign of the progress Leicester City have made over the past couple of months that they have visited a team challenging for the top four and are disappointed not to have claimed three points.

It is a further indication of their improvement that supporters waking up on Sunday morning were frustrated not with a tactical decision nor individual error on City’s part, but rather the refereeing.

In truth, Kelechi Iheanacho did foul Raphael Varane in the build-up to James Maddison’s disallowed goal, sweeping the Frenchman’s leg away as he tried to get free of the tangle. Brendan Rodgers pointed out that Harry Maguire and Alex Telles had opportunities to make an intervention thereafter, but that does not change the fact that Iheanacho committed an infringement to get past the first man.

The more debatable decision – one bizarrely absent from the Match of the Day highlights – was the possible red card for Scott McTominay. Rodgers compared it to Ayoze Perez’s sending off at West Ham last August, when he took a heavy touch before bundling into a 50-50, the Spaniard’s studs connecting with the leg of countryman Pablo Fornals.

But really, they are not comparable. Perez was not trying to challenge Fornals, but instead trying to regain his footing and shield the ball, accidentally planting his foot where the West Ham midfielder’s leg was. At Old Trafford, McTominay very clearly dived into a tackle with excessive force and his studs showing.

He escaped the most severe punishment because of the ‘clear and obvious error’ ruling. If referee Andre Marriner had shown a red card to start with, the VAR official would not have asked him to consider a yellow.

Playing against 10 men for 40 minutes could have allowed City to control the