Rejuvenated Foxes defeat Swansea to gain huge momentum in relegation battle
Leicester City beat Swansea City to secure a third consecutive Premier League win and to move off the bottom of the table for the first time in 2015.
The Foxes took the lead after a blistering start when Leo Ulloa smashed the ball past Lukasz Fabianski from ten yards after excellent hold up play from Wes Morgan.
But Swansea improved after the break and came closest to drawing level through Nelson Oliveira, with Kasper Schmeichel pulling off an excellent save to deny the Portuguese international.
The three points were secured late in the second half when Fabianksi fumbled Esteban Cambiasso`s free kick and Andy King reacted quickest to double Leicester`s advantage.
It was a deserved win for the Foxes who climb two places to 18th, having been rooted to the foot of the Premier League table since 29 November 2014, and the players will now have real belief that they can escape relegation to the Championship having once been seven points adrift at the bottom.
Nigel Pearson made three changes to the starting eleven that beat West Bromwich Albion at the Hawthorns last weekend, bringing in Andy King, Marcin Wasilewski and Andrej Kramaric for Matty James, Ritchie De Laet, and David Nugent.
Leicester began the match at lightning pace, closing down Swansea at every given opportunity and putting them under pressure from the kick-off, and were rewarded with a quarter of an hour played when Foxes` captain Wes Morgan latched on to a hanging cross into the Swans` penalty area, and showing real strength to hold the ball up for Leo Ulloa to fire the ball into the bottom corner.
It was a smart finish from Ulloa, who was originally due to start on as a substitute, for his tenth goal of the season in all competitions, and a perfect example of how clinical the Argentine can be.
The home fans were in fine voice as Leicester continued the first half with real intensity, preventing Swansea from adopting their favoured brand of football and playing the ball out from the back, and Nigel Pearson`s men almost doubled their lead when Marc Albrighton cut inside onto his left foot, but the former Villa man was unable to bend his shot inside Lukasz Fabianski`s far post.
At the other end, Jonjo Shelvey saw his shot blocked by Esteban Cambiasso, before firing over from 20 yards, and Gylfi Sigurdsson tested Kasper Schmeichel with a shot on target which the Dane was more than equal to.
With ten minutes to go before half time, Wayne Routledge latched on to a dangerous early cross into the Leicester penalty area, but Marc Albrighton`s superbly timed challenge thwarted the pacey winger and cleared the danger.
Leicester started the second half as they had begun the first, with Albrighton and Kramaric looking to find sight of goal in quick succession, but Swansea quickly gained more of a foothold in the match and came close to breaking the deadlock through Jonjo Shelvey, but Kasper Schmeichel did well to parry his curling effort away from danger.
The introduction of Jefferson Montero gave Swansea added impetus down the left-hand side, but it was Nelson Oliveira who came closest for the visitors when he cut past Robert Huth inside the Foxes` penalty area, but Kasper Schmeichel was off his line quickly to deny the former Benfica man with a smart save.
Swansea were enjoying the lion`s share of the possession as the second half continued, but Leicester were lightning fast on the counter attack and could have added a second when Jamie Vardy broke through the heart of the Swansea midfield, but with the Foxes in a two-on-one situation, the weight of Vardy`s pass was slightly too heavy for substitute Riyad Mahrez who saw his chipped effort saved by Fabianski.
Leicester were then denied a penalty when Ashley Williams appeared to push Jamie Vardy inside the area without playing the ball, but referee Lee Probert waved away the protests of the home side.
With seven minutes remaining, Riyad Mahrez saw his low effort tipped around the post by Fabianski as Leicester looked to seal the win with a second goal.
But the Foxes finally made sure of the three points in the 89th minute when Esteban Cambiasso`s free kick was bobbled by Fabianski, and Andy King was quickest to react to stab the ball into the net from close range for Leicester`s second of the match, sending the home fans into raptures.
It was an instinctive finish from King who has now scored two goals in his last three games, and one which capped a fine display from the Welsh international.
Leicester saw out the remainder of the match as confidently as they had started it, and with their third successive win, are now in as good a position as they have been in months to maintain their Premier League status – and now have the momentum and belief to do just that.
