Leicester City, who are at the second spot in the ongoing English Premier League table, were held by Aston Villa to a 1-1 draw in the first leg of the League Cup semifinal on Wednesday.
At the King Power Stadium, Leicester missed midfielder Wilfred Ndidi, who picked up a knock in training and will undergo a slight operation on Thursday.
The Foxes started the game with their sheer dominance as Spanish forward Ayoze Perez curl just inches wide of the mark with a deflected effort, while Orjan Nyland denied the returning Jamie Vardy twice in the space of four minutes as City probed for an opener.
However, they were Villa, who drew the first blood of the match. Anwar El Ghazi delivered into Frederic Guilbert, who converted from close range to put Villa in the driving seat in the 28th minute.
After many attempts from City, the Villa shot stopper was finally beaten with 16 minutes of normal time remaining.
Hamza Choudhury after winning the ball in the midfield from Douglas Luiz passed it to Jamie Vardy, who immediately slipped in substitute Kelechi Iheanacho and the Nigerian converted it for the equaliser.
Another #CarabaoCup game, another #CarabaoCup goal ⚽️
That’s 3⃣ in 3⃣ in the competition this season for @67Kelechi 🙌 pic.twitter.com/MeptK5DkOz
— Leicester City (@LCFC) January 9, 2020
The two sides meet next for the second leg at Villa Park on January 28.