Leicester scored late to beat Birmingham and regain control of the Championship promotion race on Saturday as Ipswich and Leeds both faltered.
Stephy Mavididi’s late header secured a 2-1 win and lifted Leicester to 88 points with six matches remaining — one ahead of Ipswich and two clear of Leeds, both of whom have played a game extra.
Ipswich went down 1-0 to local rivals Norwich in the early kick-off, courtesy of a first-half free-kick from Marcelino Nunez.
Leeds missed out on the chance to go top, losing 2-1 at Coventry — their first defeat in 16 league games.
Relegation-threatened Birmingham appeared on course to claim a precious point in their battle for survival at Leicester’s King Power Stadium after Jay Stansfield cancelled out Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall’s opener.
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But just as Enzo Maresca’s side looked set to pay the price for their profligacy, Mavididi struck in the 87th minute to ensure a dominant performance did not go to waste.
Saturday’s results are a huge relief for Leicester, who had opened up an enormous lead at the top of the table before a damaging run of just one win in six league games.
Ellis Simms put Coventry in front against Leeds in the ninth minute before Haji Wright’s brilliant finish shortly after half time put the home side in control.
Joel Piroe gave Leeds hope with 14 minutes remaining but Mark Robins’ men held on and are within four points of the top six.
Southampton drew 0-0 at Blackburn and Stoke came from two goals down to salvage a point against promotion-chasing West Brom.
At the other end of the table, Sheffield Wednesday earned a vital three points at QPR with a 2-0 win to keep alive their chances of survival.
AFP
