James Maddison penalty miss not to blame for Everton draw, says Dean Smith

Dean Smith refused to point the finger of blame at James Maddison after the Leicester City midfielder saw his penalty saved against Everton in a 2-2 draw that does neither side much good in their battle to avoid the drop.

Maddison had the chance to put Leicester 3-1 up at King Power Stadium but visiting goalkeeper Jordan Pickford stood his ground to save the first-half spot kick.

It proved costly for Leicester as Alex Iwobi's second-half equaliser rescued a point for the Toffees.

Dominic Calvert-Lewin’s opener from the penalty spot was swiftly cancelled out by Caglar Soyuncu and Jamie Vardy in a thrilling game.

The draw lifted Leicester out of the Premier League drop zone on goal difference, with Everton – who lost Seamus Coleman to a serious looking knee injury – second bottom and a point from safety with four games left.

“James is our top scorer, if he scores no one is asking the question,” Smith told reporters. “The goalkeeper stood up which not many do. It happens.

“There were times I felt it was two points lost, there were times I felt it was a point gained.

“In the first half we were second best for long periods, the game became a bit like basketball and we were counter attacking at home which is not what we want.

“I was disappointed as we were second best for the first half. There was just so many unforced errors.”

Leicester, who are in 16th place on 30 points, have a tough run in with games against Fulham, Liverpool and Newcastle United before facing West Ham at home in their final match on May 28.

Despite a disjointed display against fellow relegation strugglers, Smith was upbeat Leicester will improve down the home stretch.

“We’ve just played Leeds and Everton, got two points out of it,” Smith added. “If we had