Leicester City vs Wolverhampton Wanderers. Premier League.
The King Power StadiumAttendance32,053.
Match report and free highlights as Leicester earn huge win in their battle to avoid Premier League relegation; Timothy Castagne scores second-half winner at the King Power Stadium after Kelechi Iheanacho had brought hosts level before the break; Matheus Cunha had given Wolves early lead
Sunday 23 April 2023 09:45, UK
Leicester moved out of the Premier League relegation zone after coming from behind to earn a crucial 2-1 win over Wolves at the King Power Stadium.
Timothy Castagne's composed finish in the 75th minute was enough for the hosts, playing their first match at home under new manager Dean Smith, to seal an important three points in their bid for survival.
After the game, however, Smith was quick to insists Leicester have achieved nothing and must keep pushing after they climbed out of the drop zone: "It means nothing, we need to keep climbing out of there and separate ourselves as much as we can."
Earlier, Wolves had taken the lead in the 13th minute through Matheus Cunha after a mistake by Youri Tielemans, but Leicester equalised when Kelechi Iheanacho converted a penalty eight minutes before the break.
The result sees Leicester rise to 17th, above 18th-placed Everton on goal difference. Wolves are 13th, six points above the bottom three with six games remaining.
Iheanacho believes Leicester's win proved the doubters wrong.
"I think this gives the fans hope, the club hope and it gives everyone hope to keep supporting, because so many people had doubted about our qualities, our togetherness and our football, everything," Iheanacho told the club's official site, with the Foxes out of the drop zone on goal difference.
"It's a breath of fresh air. We really dug in well to get the three points. We really worked hard to get them. We have a strong character and obviously when we went a goal down, we didn't stop pressing, we didn't stop playing.
"We kept going and kept pushing each other to get the goal. We are really happy, sticking together as a group, doing this together with everybody - the staff, the players and the fans. We're all proud and hopefully we keep that form in the next game."
Robbed of James Maddison, out with illness, Leicester boss Smith threw caution to the wind with Tete, Iheanacho and Patson Daka joining Jamie Vardy going forward.
Smith was adamant Vardy could recapture some old glory, however fleeting, to save Leicester, and within three minutes the striker rolled back the years.
The new boss felt the 36-year-old could still trust his legs and, when Iheanacho slipped him through, Vardy darted past Craig Dawson to cross for Tete, only for Toti Gomes to block.
Yet, despite a positive start, the hosts shot themselves in the foot with Tielemans gifting Wolves a 13th-minute opener.
There was little threat when he collected Wout Faes' pass 30 yards out but, with the aid of a heavy touch, Mario Lemina quickly hunted the midfielder down. The ball ran to Cunha to advance and drill a clinical finish low beyond Daniel Iversen from the edge of the box.
It rocked Leicester, their early zip disappeared and the Foxes started creaking at the back, their defensive fragility all too clear. Faes blocked Pablo Sarabia's drive and Dawson's follow-up was deflected wide, while Matheus Nunes began to dictate in midfield.
It was a surprise, then, when the hosts grabbed the equaliser eight minutes before the break. Iheanacho broke and found Vardy who skipped round Jose Sa, only for the goalkeeper to slip and bring him down.
It was classic Vardy but the striker needed lengthy treatment after Sa caught him on the ankle and was off the pitch when Iheanacho stroked in the penalty.
It was a lifeline the Foxes were keen to grab and Sa spilled Tete's effort and blocked Daka's follow-up before the break.
Vardy was withdrawn at half-time and replacement Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall wasted a good chance 11 minutes into the second half, blazing over after Sa denied Daka.
Wolves had lost what momentum they had and again needed Sa to thwart Caglar Soyuncu as Leicester looked for a precious winner.
That finally came with 14 minutes left after an incisive move which left Wolves chasing shadows.
Boubakary Soumare swapped passes with Daka and threaded a neat ball to the advancing Victor Kristiansen. His first-time cross found the onrushing Castagne to sweep in from 12 yards for his first goal since August.
Iversen still needed to turn over Ruben Neves' late free-kick, but the Foxes held on to give themselves hope.
Leicester boss Dean Smith:
"It means nothing, we need to keep climbing out of there and separate ourselves as much as we can.
"We will enjoy this moment and how it feels to win a game after a while and get ready for Tuesday and Leeds.
"It's a massive win, one we've needed. It shows an awful lot of character to come from a goal down and a mistake which led to a goal. Mentally it will give all the players a lift.
"I think there's relief because of the run we've been on. I've just addressed them in the dressing room and said, 'enjoy it but don't get too high because we've got another big game on Tuesday', and recovery is the most important thing for them now."
Wolves boss Julen Lopetegui:
"This is the worst message we can send to the players [that they have a cushion]. It's a very dangerous message because I know how football is and how the Premier League is.
"Until you have achieved one aim you have not done anything yet. Sometimes it's not easy to explain it but it's about the football. We are very clear with this message for the players, they know.
"Of course we have frustration because we didn't get any positive things here. We have to recover very fast. We have a very hard challenge in two days [against Crystal Palace]. We did good things but not enough.
"I think you want to have positives, to win or draw away. You need to keep your focus on the little details.
"We have done 55 minutes very well but we had the possibility to get more and score a second goal which we didn't do. It was a pity we suffered the second goal."
Analysis by Sky Sports' Dan Sansom:
When Leicester announced their starting line-up for Saturday's home game against Wolves, there was one glaring omission - James Maddison. In fact, the England midfielder was not in the matchday squad at all due to illness.
Before this weekend, Leicester had taken just one point from a possible 18 without their captain since the World Cup. And considering the 26-year-old leads the way for goal involvements (15) and chances created (55) for the Foxes this season, it was difficult to see how they would find a way to beat a Wolves side who had kept back-to-back clean sheets.
It looked even more unlikely when Leicester, searching for their first victory in 10 top-flight matches, fell behind in the 13th minute. But just as the murmurs and groans started to become audible inside the King Power, they somehow found the resilience and determination to fight back.
Leicester registered 15 shots on goal during the match, eight of which were on target. They also created three big chances - Wolves created zero. Dean Smith, taking charge of his first home fixture, deserves huge credit too. He picked an adventurous line-up with Tete, Kelechi Iheanacho, Patson Daka and Jamie Vardy all named in attack. It was a risk worth taking and it paid off.
Leicester's first win since February 11 lifted them out of the bottom three - albeit only on goal difference - but with games against relegation rivals Leeds and Everton up next, they have given themselves a real chance of preserving their Premier League status.
They have shown they can win without Maddison. Now they must prove this was not a one-off.
Leicester host Leeds in the Premier League at Elland Road on Tuesday at 8pm. Wolves are back at Molineux hosting Crystal Palace at 7.30pm on the same evening.
