Everton lose another lead as Stephy Mavididi secures a point for Leicester | Premier League

Clearly, there is still a long way to go before the storm clouds clear for these two teams, but, on a day when thunder, lightning and biblical rain kept players out for a 21-minute halftime interval, they can at least see the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow that is Premier League salvation.

Iliman Ndiaye scored his first Premier League goal Everton Their first point of the season, although they lost another lead when Stephy Mavididi secured the equaliser in the 73rd minute with his third goal in four games. While both teams are still looking for their first Premier League win of the season, they could at least claim qualification.

Leicester fans booed when Mavididi, their team's most creative player, was substituted and Steve Cooper still has a lot of work to do, especially judging by what he saw in the first half, to get this team playing the way he wants.

“In the first half we were second in many non-negotiable aspects,” said the Leicester manager. “But at least we pulled ourselves together in the second half and deserved a point.”

“Stephy had done her job. I understand the frustration of the fans and she was excellent in the second half. Our chances seemed likely to come from that side. But I am very happy with her performance. She didn’t come off because of that, that’s obvious, she just ran out of energy.”

Everton did not start out as a team losing confidence. In fact, they should have been ahead even before they opened the scoring, when Jesper Lindstrøm volleyed Ndiaye's excellent cross wide.

Ndiaye was excellent. The former Sheffield United winger, signed in the summer from Marseille, put his side ahead when, having passed the ball to Ashley Young, he latched on to the full-back's brilliant pass inside the box, beat Harry Winks and fired in off the near post, surprising Mads Hermansen in the Leicester goal.

At that moment the heavens opened. Although Darren England let the first half play out to the end, the rain only increased and the time between the lightning and thunder became shorter. The interval was therefore extended by five minutes.

“I probably would have been struck by lightning if we'd started the second half earlier the way it went,” Everton manager Sean Dyche said.

Both managers agreed that these were the worst conditions they had ever seen in a match, but at least the goals against Everton have stopped raining down.

After conceding 13 goals in their first four games, Dyche was pleased to see his side play a more compact game, with Orel Mangala impressive in the defensive midfield anchor role alongside Abdoulaye Doucouré.

Skilful, compact but always threatening with their penetration through Ndiaye on the left flank and Dwight McNeil through the middle, they did not look like a team without points, but rather a team with something to prove.

Leicester played a dismal first half. Although Jordan Pickford diverted Mavididi's poorly delivered cross in off his own post, Cooper's poor run of form looked set to continue. The former Nottingham Forest manager has one win in his last 18 Premier League games and was relieved to see his side finish better.

Everton had clear-cut chances to double their lead on the counter-attack and, while 2-0 is not their favourite lead after losing their previous two games from such an advantageous position, they paid the price.

Leicester are a brave team. Caleb Okoli, a £12.6m summer signing from Atalanta, headed over from a difficult chance after Mavididi's close-range pass.

As the storm settled into a mere deluge, Everton seemed to tire, their team still exhausted. Mavididi equalised when Winks' corner dropped inside the six-yard box and his shot bounced off the ground and into the net. Leicester fans booed his withdrawal, but at least they had something to celebrate at the end of the game.

Dyche was relieved to see the scoreline finally set. “It’s a point won, because we needed one or three points, but also because of the positivity of the game,” he said. “There was real confidence and belief in our game.”