Leicester 2-1 Wolves: Timothy Castagne scores winner and Kelechi Iheanacho nets penalty
Leicester 2-1 Wolves: Hosts move out of the relegation zone with comeback win in Midlands derby – as Kelechi Iheanacho’s penalty and Timothy Castagne’s matchwinner sees Dean Smith record his first victory since becoming Foxes boss
- Leicester came from behind to beat Wolves and move out of relegation zone
- Matheus Cunha put Wolves ahead before Kelechi Iheanacho netted a penalty
- Timothy Castagne scored the decisive goal in what could be a crucial victory
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Dean Smith raised a clenched fist into the air, gave it a victorious shake and the King Power pulsated once again to the sound of three points.
Leicester remembered how to win. It has been a while. Seventy days to be precise but all that mattered to most of those present for Smith’s first home game in charge was that his team stopped the winless rot of nine game.
They did with a goal Timothy Castagne scored the vital goal in the 75th minute after a penalty by Kelechi Iheanacho had wiped out the Wolves opener, scored by Matheus Cunha.
There is still work to do, with vital fixtures next up against Leeds and Everton but positive energy and belief washed back into the stadium. What a difference a win makes.
Smith and his coaching team, which includes former Leicester boss Craig Shakespeare, received a warm ovation before their first home game in charge. It was his 600th game as a manager, a dozen years after his first at Walsall.
Timothy Castagne celebrates after scoring the winner for Leicester against Wolves
Kelechi Iheanacho had pulled Leicester level from the penalty spot in the 37th minute
Leicester forward Iheanacho showed impressive composure from the spot to equalise
Dean Smith is delighted after securing his first victory since he took charge of Leicester
He will be under no illusions about the size of the task, although his problems deepened before kick off when James Maddison reported ill, unable to play, and again when Wolves struck early, when Youri Tielemans was caught in possession in his own defensive third.
Tielemans took a heavy touch as he collected a pass from Wout Faes and Mario Lemina stepped in to win the ball. Cunha picked it up, drove forwards and flashed a shot, low past Leicester goalkeeper Daniel Iversen from just outside the penalty area.
It was a second Wolves goal for the 23-year-old Brazilian on loan from Atletico Madrid since January and should have filled the visitors with confidence. The nine previous occasions they had taken the lead under Lopetegui they went on to win.
Fans in the away end taunted their hosts. “Down with the Forest,” they sang. Wolves continued to dominate and Smith’s team appeared fragile. Leicester have not kept a clean sheet since the World Cup and seemed quite capable of conceding more in a hurry with no resistance in the middle of the pitch.
Faes slid to block another effort by Cunha and Craig Dawson, venturing up from the back, saw a shot deflected wide. There was an uneasy shift of mood in the stands as they came under more pressure with Wolves moving the ball freely.
Then, a swift break out of defence and the home team were back in the game. Iheanacho released Jamie Vardy and it was like a trip back in time as he accelerated onto the pass, drew the ‘keeper, skipped past him and was tripped.
Contact was clear. Sa stepped onto Vardy’s right foot, and it was not a difficult decision for referee Andy Madley, who pointed to the spot. Vardy required treatment and Iheanacho scored from the spot, his fifth goal of the Premier League campaign.
Leicester’s confidence returned and they ended the first half on top with Wolves desperately trying to break up the flow, exaggerating fouls and rolling around, impatient to reach the interval. Sa made a fine double save, taking off to his right to beat out a curler from Iheanacho and reacting well to block from Patson Daka on the rebound.
Vardy limped through to half-time but did not return, replaced by Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, which also served to give Smith’s team more presence in midfield and Leicester had the chance to move ahead when Daka was played through on goal, early in the second half.
Matheus Cunha put Wolves in the ascendancy after 13 minutes at the King Power Stadium
Leicester brought on Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall for Jamie Vardy at the start of the second half
Sa stood firm to make another save and Dewsbury-Hall swept the rebound over when he ought to have hit the target. Caglar Soyuncu was next to be frustrated by Sa but Leicester’s positive attitude hauled the crowd behind.
Lopetegui, who sent on Ruben Neves at the interval, made a double change as he sought a way back into the contest but they went behind in the 75th minute when Victor Kristiansen’s low cross from the left was swept past Sa by opposite full-back Castagne, charging forward.
Nervous moments remained for the home side. Toti headed into side netting, Iversen saved looping header from Hwang Hee-Chan and Neves swerved a free-kick narrowly over.
There was also an anxious wait for a VAR check on an possible handball by Faes but that passed and they clung on through five added minutes. Up went the volume, back came the belief and out came the “Foxes Never Quit” clappers. Just like old times.
