Jamie Vardy stayed calm to score the decisive penalty of a shootout and send Leicester past Everton into the semi-finals.
Carlo Ancelotti is expected to be in the stands when Everton play Arsenal on Saturday, and thanks to Duncan Ferguson’s stewardship he will be watching a vibrant, confident side.
Brendan Rodgers’ side are second in the table for a reason, and two first-half goals in quick succession from James Maddison and Jonny Evans appeared to have killed the contest, until Everton staged an unlikely second-half recovery that culminated in a piledriving equaliser from Leighton Baines in the 90th minute.
Leicester could have gone behind in the opening minutes when a momentary lapse by Jonny Evans almost let in Richarlison, though as the first half wore on the visitors began to push Everton back with their conservative but accurate passing and began to create chances of their own. Ayoze Pérez should have taken advantage of one when Ricardo Pereira showed a turn of speed to reach the byline on the right, but though his cut-back picked out the Leicester forward perfectly the finish was hasty and high over the bar.
When Leicester opened the scoring just before the half hour the move was almost identical. Again Pereira found himself with time and space on the right, only this time instead of attempting to beat Baines he crossed early and low to find Maddison. Everton were in trouble from that point on and the England midfielder coolly controlled the ball before finding a way past Jordan Pickford with the outside of his right boot.
It was no more than Leicester deserved for the eagerness of their approach, and a couple of minutes later they went further ahead from a set piece. Maddison’s corner was flicked on by Jamie Vardy, even though with Mason Holgate in midfield Everton had three centre-halves on defensive duty, and it was a simple task for Evans to apply a close-range finish at the far post.
If ever the home side needed the sort of bear-pit atmosphere Ferguson demanded before kick-off it was now, yet Goodison was so quiet the Leicester fans were suggesting the place resembled a library. Things improved on the noise front just before the interval, when Yerry Mina brought a save from Kasper Schmeichel from Bernard’s free-kick, but Everton’s attempts to get back into the game were tentative and limited. By half-time the only section of the crowd making itself heard was the corner allocated to the Leicester supporters, and though Ferguson cut the same animated figure in the technical area as he had in his first match in charge against Chelsea, this time there was no detectable response.
Everton might have pulled a goal back after an hour had Mina been able to do better with a free header from a Baines corner, before Dennis Praet shot at Schmeichel at the other end with a chance to make the game safe. Vardy’s runs and subtle touches had caused problems for Everton’s defenders all night, and he almost created one of the goals of the season midway through the second half, first by finding pace to beat the cover then showing awareness to backheel a pass to find Marc Albrighton in space. The winger knew he had to try a first-time shot but his right foot curler came back off the bar.
Leicester regretted that missed opportunity almost immediately as Tom Davies pulled a goal back with a sidefoot volley from Richarlison’s cross, particularly as the Goodison atmosphere finally arrived for the last 20 minutes, a fact acknowledged by Everton’s caretaker manager removing his suit jacket in the rain. Substitute Moise Kean sent over a cross from the right that Dominic Calvert-Lewin rose to head over the bar, and Ferguson threw an 18-year-old debutant into the mix in Anthony Gordon, but it was the experienced old hand Baines, only playing because of injury to Lucas Digne, who finally sent Goodison into rapture with a rasping shot from outside the area.
