Claude Puel acknowledged that Kasper Schmeichel's penalty save from Glenn Murray in the 77th minute changed the game in Leicester's favour as they went on to beat Brighton 2-0.
With the scoreline at 0-0, Brighton were handed a golden chance to break the deadlock when Jose Izquierdo was brought down inside the box by Wilfred Ndidi.
However, Schmeichel ensured that the scoreline remained level by flinging himself across to his left and parrying Murray's penalty away from danger.
Goals from Vicente Iborra and Jamie Vardy turned the game completely on its head and Puel admitted that it was a crucial result given Leicester were nowhere near their best.
Puel said: "The first half was poor, we didn't come back from the international break. It was difficult, it was slow and we were without tempo, rhythm and aggressiveness. We tried to correct this at half time and we were better in the second half.
"It was a fantastic save form Kasper [Schmeichel] and it changed the situation of the game. It gave us a good feeling and desire to continue to believe and for the opponent it was opposite.
"Of course it changed the situation and it was a fantastic result in these conditions. It wasn't a fantastic game for us in terms of play but the result is very crucial."
The only downside for Leicester on the day was losing Ndidi to a red card after the Nigerian was sent off late on for a second bookable offence.
It was the second time this season that Ndidi has seen red in the Premier League and he looked visibly upset at the decision.
Puel stated that Ndidi would be a big miss for his side and while he refused to be drawn on whether or not he deserved to go, he did suggest that the referee Chris Kavanagh treated his team more harshly than the hosts.
"We conceded a lot of yellow cards with just one foul and in my opinion it was not the same for the opponent. He's a crucial player for us because he works hard and he recovers a lot of balls and starts play but we have to find a good solution for the next games.
"Our aim is to finish as high as possible and we will see where we are at the end. We have a lot of games against opponents in difficulty or in the Champions League so we have a lot of tough games and will take it game by game."