Leicester 2-1 Birmingham, Foxes climb to Championship summit late
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![Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall scores for Leicester against Birmingham](https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/onesport/cps/624/cpsprodpb/0DDD/production/_133094530_gettyimages-2143438637.jpg)
Leicester City has risen to the top of Championship after securing an late win over Birmingham City at the King Power Stadium.
Stephy Mavidi’s goal in the 87th-minute finally broke down the visitors’ strong defence.
Jay Stansfield, on the stroke at halftime, restored the parity after Kiernan Hall opened the scoring.
Enzo Maresca’s side leapfrogs promotion rivals Ipswich who lost and Leeds who also lost. Birmingham are now in the relegation zone after losing.
Dewsbury Hall played a major role in the first half. His cross almost led Emanuel Aiwu to score an own goal. But Blues goalkeeper JohnRuddy blocked it.
Patson Daka fed the midfielder, who scored his 12th goal in the current season.
The visitors almost retaliated when Krystian Biedlik missed the target from close range before Ruddy denied Daka on the other end.
Stansfield equalized just before the half with his second goal of the week. He deflected into the goal after he pounced on the clearance of Foxes goalkeeper MadsHermansen.
Wilfried Ndidi nearly regained Leicester’s lead just five minutes after the half, but Ruddy parried his header from Mavididi’s cross.
Ruddy was called to action again minutes later when he dived to block Fatawu’s effort. Jamie Vardy – a second-half introduction – headed wide as Leicester’s nerves started to grow.
Both sides had chances to win, but Mavididi was the one who scored the decisive goal, heading in Yunus’s cross from the back post. The Foxes now lead the Championship.
Leicester manager Enzo Maresca told BBC Radio Leicester“I believe that the team once again produced chances. It was only a matter of finding the second. Sometimes you struggle and concede the second in transition, but our game was very well controlled.
“When you are there, and you struggle to score goals, you think that you won’t win the game. The team was fantastic, and I think that we deserved to win.
“I told them to be patient at half-time; second half, we played even better. The team is doing well, but in the last 10 mins we were even better.
“I’m happy for Stephy. I think he will become more important to us. Now we are focusing on Tuesday.”
Birmingham interim manager Gary Rowett tells BBC Radio WM“When you visit places like Leicester, it’s important to understand that the team is very good and they will have a great deal of possession. Sometimes key moments do not go your way.
“We need just a bit more courage and quality in our possession. This is why it was difficult to sustain a long period with the football. In the second period, I think a little fatigue set in and so I made a lot of changes. You have to finish the game and we can’t keep conceding goals late because those points will be very important come May.
“We need to do everything to help our teammates get out of trouble.” You saw a lot of good work. It was disappointing but we did a lot of things well. Our season won’t be defined by Leicester at home.”
Line-ups
Leicester
You can also find out more about the Formation 4-3-3
- 30Hermansen
- 21Ricardo Pereira
- 3FaesBooked at 35mins
- 23Vestergaard
- 5DoyleSubstitute forJustinYou can also check out our other articles. 45′The following are some of the most recent and relevant articles.
- 25NdidiSubstituted forPraet 82′The following are some of the most recent and relevant articles.
- 8Winks
- 22Dewsbury-Hall
- 18FatawuSubstituted forAkgünYou can also check out our other articles. 81′The following are some of the most recent and relevant articles.
- 20DakaSubstitute forVardyYou can also check out our other articles. 60′The following are some of the most recent and relevant articles.
- 10MavididiBooked in 89 minutesSubstitute forCoadyYou can also check out our other articles. 90+6′The following are some of the most recent and relevant articles.
Substitutes
- 2Justin
- 4Coady
- 9Vardy
- 14Iheanacho
- 17Choudhury
- 26Praet
- 29Akgün
- 40Marçal-Madivadua
- 41Stolarczyk
Birmingham
You can also find out more about the Formation 4-2-3-1
- 21Ruddy
- 2Laird
- 44Aiwu
- 5Sanderson
- 3Buchanan
- 13Paik Seung-ho
- 6BielikBooked at 57minsSubstitute forSunjicYou can also check out our other articles. 58′The following are some of the most recent and relevant articles.
- 11MiyoshiSubstituted forAndersonYou can also check out our other articles. 58′The following are some of the most recent and relevant articles.
- 19JamesBooked at 19minsSubstituted ForDembélé 81′The following are some of the most recent and relevant articles.
- 7BacunaSubstituted ForPritchardYou can also check out our other articles. 58′The following are some of the most recent and relevant articles.
- 28StansfieldSubstituted forHoganYou can also check out our other articles. 80′The following are some of the most recent and relevant articles.
Substitutes
- 1Etheridge
- 8Roberts
- 9Hogan
- 12Drameh
- 14Anderson
- 17Dembélé
- 20Gardner
- 29Pritchard
- 34Sunjic
- Referee:
- David Webb
- Attendance:
- 31,825
Live Text
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Leicester City 2, Birmingham City 1: Match ends.
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Second half ends with Leicester City 2, Birmingham City 1
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Corner, Leicester City. Dion Sanderson concedes.
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Substitution, Leicester City. Conor Coady replaces Stephy Mavidi.
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Jamie Vardy of Leicester City wins a penalty kick in the defensive area.
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Foul by Siriki Dembélé (Birmingham City).
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Stephy Mavididi, Leicester City, is fouled.
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Ethan Laird of Birmingham City wins a penalty kick in the half-time.
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Stephy Mavididi, Leicester City, is given the yellow card due to excessive celebration.
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Goal! Leicester City 2, Birmingham City 1 Stephy Mavididi’s (Leicester City), header from the left of the six-yard box to the top-right corner. Assisted by Yunus Akgün with a cross.
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Attempt saved. Scott Hogan’s (Birmingham City), angled left footed left footed strike from a difficult left angle is saved at the bottom left corner.
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Attempt saved. Alex Pritchard’s right footedshot from outside the box saved in the bottom right corner. Scott Hogan assists.
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Attempt saved. Stephy Mavididi’s right footedshot from the left side the box is saved by the bottom right corner. Jamie Vardy assists.
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Substitution, Leicester City. Dennis Praet replaces Wilfred Nididi.
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Substitution, Leicester City. Yunus Akgün replaces Abdul Fatawu.
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Substitution at Birmingham City. Siriki Dembélé replaces Jordan James.
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Birmingham City makes a substitution. Scott Hogan replaces Jay Stansfield.
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Wout Faes, Leicester City, wins a free-kick in the defensive quarter.
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Jay Stansfield of Birmingham City is fouled.
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Attempt blocked. Stephy Mavididi’s right footedshot from outside the box by Leicester City is blocked. James Justin assisted.
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