Super Steph is the Mav-a-go hero as Foxes flying again
ADVANTAGE Leicester after the kind of day Enzo Maresca could only have dreamed of.
The Foxes stormed back to the top of the table thanks to Stephy Mavididi’s late winner after nearest rivals Leeds and Ipswich both lost.
Maresca ran down the touchline like he was Jose Mourinho after Mavididi’s 87th-minute header.
He said: “I’m very happy – especially with the way we won the game.
“We played well all game and deserved to win. The team were fantastic.
“It was most important to control our emotions in situations like these but that is something I didn’t do at the end!”
This was a game the Foxes seemed to be in control of thanks to Kiernan DewsburyHall’s 28th-minute opener.
But keeper Mads Hermansen’s howler on the stroke of half-time appeared to have given Birmingham a survival lifeline.
On-loan Jay Stansfield charged down the Dane’s kick with the ball ending up in the net.
But Maresca said: “I’ve told him to keep playing the same way.
“He’s a human being and can make mistakes.”
Leicester took the lead when Abdul Fatawu bravely retrieved the ball while on the floor, with Patson Daka laying it off for DewsburyHall to slam home.
Birmingham responded well with Krystian Bielik’s power drive just wide.
And the Blues were level in freak circumstances thanks to Stansfield’s tenacity and Hermansen’s sloppiness. Frustrations appeared to get the better of Leicester in the second half as John Ruddy produced a super show.
He saved brilliantly to keep out Wilfred Ndidi’s diving header from Mavididi’s cross and then Fatawu’s curler.
It did not look like being the Foxes’ day when Mavididi’s effort was saved and Birmingham, who had defended well throughout, cleared an almighty scramble. But they kept their patience, with Mavididi heading in from sub Yunus Akgun’s cross for his 13th goal of the season to send the King Power Stadium wild. Birmingham slipped into the bottom three as a result of this late heartbreak but did not look like a relegation-threatened side.
Interim boss Gary Rowett said: “It’s a tough one to take at the end but they are a very good side.
“They play with incredible width and energy and there were times we had to defend last ditch.
“But for their first goal Daka was clearly offside.”
LEICESTER: Hermansen 5; Pereira 6, Faes 7, Vestergaard 6, Doyle 6 (Justin (46) 6); Ndidi 7 (Praet (81) 6), Winks 7, Dewsbury-Hall 7; Fatawu 6 (Akgun (81) 7), Daka 6 (Vardy (60) 6), Mavididi 7 (Coady (90) 5)
BIRMINGHAM: Ruddy 7; Laird 7, Aiwu 6, Sanderson 7, Buchanan 6; Paik Seung-Ho 6, Bielik 6 (Sunjic (58) 6); Miyoshi 6 (Anderson (58) 6), James 6 (Dembele (80) 5), Bacuna 6 (Pritchard (58) 6); Stansfield 7 (Hogan (80) 5)
STAR MAN: Stephy Mavididi – In the right place at the right time to head home a priceless late winner.
REF: David Webb 6