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Daniel Amartey: Kasper Schmeichel speech sparked Leicester comeback

Kasper Schmeichel's half-time address sparked Leicester City's second-half comeback at Stoke City, Daniel Amartey has said.

The Foxes were 2-0 down at the interval having seen Jamie Vardy dismissed, a debatable penalty awarded against Danny Simpson and five of their players booked by referee Craig Pawson.

Their sense of injustice even extended to Claudio Ranieri, who needed to be dragged away from Pawson by Schmeichel after expressing his frustration on the pitch.

Having calmed his boss, goalkeeper Schmeichel, back again after missing eight games with a fractured hand, then rallied his teammates at the break before the 10-man Foxes claimed an unlikely point thanks to second-half goals from Leonardo Ulloa and Amartey.

"When we went inside [Ranieri] talked to us, Kasper talked to us and we talked to each other," Amartey told LCFC TV. "We had to come back and fight together."

Amartey added of Leicester's squad strength: "It's a good asset for us. When you're on the bench, you have to be ready every game because you don't know what could happen. I'm very happy for Demarai [Gray] and those that came in to change the game and help us."

Gray and Ulloa are two options Ranieri may consider if Vardy is forced to sit out the fixtures with Everton, West Ham United and Middlesbrough.

Meanwhile, Stoke striker Jonathan Walters said his team were fortunate to benefit from Vardy's sending off.

"I think we got a little luck with the red," he told BBC Radio Stoke. "It's a difficult one. He is going with two feet but I don't think it's that malicious. I think Glen pulled him back a little bit."