Leicester City scored a 95th-minute penalty to rescue a 2-2 draw against West Ham United in an action-packed match at the King Power Stadium this afternoon.
The hosts looked on course for a first defeat in eight games when West Ham scored twice in as many second-half minutes to cancel out a Jamie Vardy opener after the striker had also been sent off.
However, referee Jonathan Moss capped a controversial showing by awarding a late spot kick to the home side, and Leonardo Ulloa tucked it away to send his side eight points clear at the top of the Premier League table.
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The Foxes went into the match having kept five consecutive clean sheets in the top flight for the first time in their history, but it looked for all the world as though that record had come to an end after less than two minutes this afternoon.
Dimitri Payet swung a free kick into the area that Cheikhou Kouyate nodded goalwards, but Kasper Schmeichel's touch took the ball onto the inside of the post, before it trickled along the line and hit the other upright, allowing the keeper to eventually gather.
Payet had a shot of his own from a tight angle moments later as the visitors made a bright start to the match, but Leicester soon settled and should have made the breakthrough themselves when Robert Huth steered a header wide of the target when unmarked inside the area.
Danny Drinkwater then lashed a powerful effort over from 25 yards before the Foxes took the lead in the 18th minute as Vardy drew level with Harry Kane as the Premier League's leading marksman this season.
It was a classic counter-attack from the hosts as Riyad Mahrez and N'Golo Kante combined to find the England international, who buried a clinical left-footed finish into the bottom corner for his 22nd of the season.
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West Ham responded well to that setback and saw plenty of the ball in the 10 minutes that followed, but they couldn't create any clear chances as once again Leicester turned to their defence to protect their advantage.
Set pieces had provided the visitors with their best openings of the first half, and it was no surprise to see Slaven Bilic bring Andy Carroll on as a sub during the interval in an attempt to capitalise on that.
It almost paid immediate dividends as the striker got his head to the first corner with him on the field, but he mistimed his effort and sent it well wide from a good position.
Schmeichel then kept out a tame Kouyate effort before Leicester again began to threaten at the other end of the field, with Huth putting a header wide and Vardy arriving a fraction too late to turn Shinji Okazaki's cross/shot in at the back post.
The Foxes were dealt a blow shortly before the hour mark, however, as they were reduced to 10 men when Vardy was shown a second yellow card for diving having gone over in the area following a challenge from Angelo Ogbonna.
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Once again it was the woodwork that came to Leicester's rescue as the Hammers looked to take advantage of their extra man, with Winston Reid's skilful near-post flick clipping the frame of the goal on its way behind.
Leicester largely limited West Ham's scoring opportunities until the closing stages, but it would take just two minutes for the visitors to turn the match on its head and add another twist to the title race.
The equaliser came from the spot when Wes Morgan was adjudged to have pulled Reid down when grappling from a corner, and Carroll stepped up to tuck the resulting penalty into the bottom corner.
There was nothing controversial about the goal that put West Ham in front, however, as Aaron Cresswell looked to have ended his side's five-match winless streak by firing a spectacular half-volley into the top corner from the edge of the area.
Moss further enraged the home fans when he rejected a penalty appeal from Huth in the final minute of normal time, but he did point to the spot on the last attack of the game when Jeffrey Schlupp was bundled over by Carroll.
With Vardy and Mahrez off the field, the penalty duties fell to Ulloa, who held his nerve to rescue a draw for his side and make it 13 Premier League home games unbeaten for the Foxes.
Leicester now sit eight points clear of Tottenham Hotspur, who face Stoke City on Monday night, with just four games of the season remaining as they edge ever closer to a first ever league title.
West Ham, meanwhile, have now drawn four Premier League games in a row and sit six points adrift of the top four.
Barney Corkhill
