City Handed Defeat By Millwall
After consecutive home victories and a combination of results elsewhere going their way at the weekend, the Foxes' winning run was ended by a stoic Lions side. Ryan Longman's 59th-minute screamer was the difference in south London. Leicester, though, stay on top after a 0-0 draw for Leeds United with Sunderland at Elland Road. The Whites overtake Ipswich Town into second, with the Tractor Boys hosting Watford on Wednesday evening. It was a thoroughly frustrating night on the road for City and another reminder that there will be twists and turns in the battle for promotion to the Premier League.
Two changes to the XI which sealed that climactic success over Birmingham City on Monday saw Jamie Vardy and Yunus Akgün come in, replacing Patson Daka and Abdul Fatawu. Yunus, of course, was the man who played that excellent cross for Stephy Mavdidi’s 87th-minute winner against Blues at King Power Stadium. A typically hostile welcome was extended to Enzo Maresca's men by the locals – hoping their team could climb away from the second tier’s relegation spaces with a win over the leaders. Three points lifts them to 17th in the table and gives them a four-point cushion to the bottom three.
Millwall tested Mads Hermansen straight away in the capital. George Honeyman's free-kick, though, was headed straight at the Dane by Longman. Despite the gap between the sides in the table, the visitors had some defending to do early on. A brave header from Callum Doyle was crucial to stop another opening before Mavididi burst away on the counter, but his touch was heavy and Matija Šarkić could scoop it up. In the 10th minute, the Foxes stirred. A lovely flick from Ricardo Pereira gave Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall room to run into. The Academy graduate, nominated for the Championship’s Player of the Year prize, threaded the ball through to Vardy. The Leicester No.9, however, was denied by a diving stop from Šarkić.
After a lull in goalmouth action, City became more a threat from the half-hour mark. Honeyman needed to deflect Dewsbury-Hall’s curler behind from 20 yards. A tame Jake Cooper header also had to be dealt with at the other end by Hermansen, making a simple stop. Into the second half, Akgün was twice thwarted by well-timed blocks. One sent the ball behind before, in the 55th minute, Jake Cooper courageously dived into the path of a powerful hit to keep it away from the Millwall goal. It wasn’t working for Leicester, though, and they paid a price in the 59th minute. Breaking away down the left channel, Millwall came at them, and when Longman belted the ball towards goal, there was nothing Hermansen could do. It crashed off the crossbar and over the line. With only half an hour to spare, the Foxes’ task was now that little bit tougher.
With the visitors pushing for an equaliser, they nearly had to get their heads around a Millwall second when Michael Obafemi burst through the defence and got a strike away. Hermansen, though, stayed on his feet and made a solid stop. Maresca’s men were still trying to build through the thirds and, with 18 minutes to play, second-half substitute Fatawu headed Wilfred Ndidi’s cross well over. Šarkić was called into action at the start of the final 10 minutes as well. Dennis Praet, another player off the bench, slipped the ball through to Ricardo, but the Portuguese’s strong strike was too close to the Lions' shot stopper. Leicester’s pursuit of a late leveller went into seven additional minutes and Kelechi Iheanacho was left to rue his bad fortune when Billy Mitchell leapt into a goal-line clearance from his point-blank header. It was a brilliant run and scooped cross from Fatawu in the build-up, but Millwall were doing everything to see out the win. Mavididi whipped another effort high and wide before the end ahead of Daka nodding Praet’s cross wide too. There's little time to dwell for City, who are due at Home Park to tackle Plymouth Argyle on Friday. Five games - one of those in hand - still to go.