Claudio Ranieri's reunion with former side Leicester City ended all square as Fulham drew 1-1 with the Foxes' at Craven Cottage on Wednesday evening.
The opening goal came only minutes before the break as Aboubakar Kamara struck clinically to give Fulham the lead. James Maddison equalised for the Leicester midway through the second-half with his second goal in as many games to earn Claude Puel's men a hard-earned point.
Both sides waste chances
The East-Midlanders had by far the best opportunity of the opening stages as Maddison released Kelechi Iheanacho, who had replaced the injured Jamie Vardy in the starting lineup. The Nigerian attempted to chip Fulham goalkeeper Sergio Rico but did not get enough purchase on his effort.
The hosts appeared to gather themselves as Maxime Le Marchand tested Kasper Schmeichel before the Danish stopper also denied Calum Chambers as the on-loan Arsenal man sent an exquisite volley towards goal.
It was a case of missed chances throughout the majority of the first-half as Aleksandar Mitrovic headed marginally wide before Leicester captain Wes Morgan also had a header tipped away by Rico.
Kamara fires Fulham ahead before the break
However, Kamara was the man who did manage to open the scoring. The Frenchman latched onto a flick-on from Mitrovic and shook off Caglar Soyuncu. The defender over-committed himself, allowing the striker to turn and drive his shot beyond Schmeichel and into the bottom corner for his first Premier League goal of the season.
That gave Ranieri's men the boost they needed after the break and they were by far the better side following the interval. Alfie Mawson at first headed just off target before Tom Cairney fired just wide.
Maddison rises to the occasion
Puel made two changes midway through the second-half by introducing Shinji Okazaki and Vicente Iborra. The changes made an instant impact as the former flicked on towards Maddison. The Englishman picked the ball up on the penalty area and drilled the ball low past Rico.
The hosts did continue to carve out chances and the ever-dangerous Cairney threatened Schmeichel's goal once again but the stopper managed to tip over.
There were late chances for both sides to win the game. The Foxes went close through Maddison and Demarai Gray but both spurned their opportunities. Ranieri could have had a satisfying victory against his former club in the closing stages but both Mitrovic and Denis Odoi shot wide and over respectively to ensure the points were shared.
Takeaways
Maddison replacing Mahrez
When Riyad Mahrez departed the King Power Stadium in the summer, Leicester supporters were worried. After all, the Algerian was on most occasions the man to drag the Foxes out of numerous sticky situations. However, that figure is now James Maddison.
Leicester were really struggling to impose themselves on the game at Craven Cottage until Maddison's brilliant finish. His positive play has ensured the departure of Mahrez has so far gone unnoticed.
Ranieri has Fulham well-drilled
For a side that do not yet have a clean sheet in the Premier League, Fulham have looked improved under new boss Ranieri. Whilst not quite able to keep Leicester out, the Whites marshalled a talented Foxes' attack extremely well.
Should they continue their defensive solidarity, they could be well on their way to survival.
Leicester blunt without Jamie Vardy
With Jamie Vardy restricted to the sidelines with injury, Iheanacho was called into the side in his place. However, the Nigerian is simply too low on confidence to deputise for the former Fleetwood Town man.
Since his move from Manchester City, Iheanacho has struggled, and did again against Fulham. He will need to drastically improve his performances if he wants to retain a permanent place in the Foxes starting XI.
Man of the Match
Sergio Rico
Whilst nobody particularly stood out, on-loan Sevilla man Rico was a key performer for Fulham. Saving guilt-edged chances early and late in the game, he was a key reason behind Fulham earning what could turn out to be a valuable point.