Sam Morsy’s twice deflected stoppage-time equaliser earned second-placed Ipswich a 1-1 draw at home to Championship leaders Leicester.

Morsy’s effort from the edge of the penalty area struck Ricardo Pereira and then the head of Jannik Vestergaard to leave Foxes goalkeeper Mads Hermansen helpless.

Leicester had taken the lead in the 24th minute with a strike from just inside the penalty area by Stephy Mavididi.

The result left Town still six points adrift of their opponents and five points ahead of third placed Southampton, who moved up a place to become the Tractor Boys’ nearest challengers for an automatic promotion spot following their 5-0 victory over Swansea.

Ipswich bounced back from Saturday’s chastening 4-0 loss against Leeds and even stretched their advantage over the Whites to eight points after they were beaten 2-1 by Preston and dropped down to fourth earlier on Boxing Day.

A cross from Wes Burns into the penalty area, aimed for raiding full-back Leif Davis, was headed away for an Ipswich corner by Abdul Fatawu as the hosts made a proactive start.

But they were dealt an injury blow in the 20th minute when George Hirst suffered what appeared to be a hamstring injury and he was forced off.

There were handball appeals by Ipswich players in the 21st minute when the ball appeared to go close to the outstretched hand of Conor Coady but three minutes later the Foxes took the lead through Mavididi.

He found acres of space on the left and curled a shot beyond the reach of Ipswich goalkeeper Vaclav Hladky into the corner of the net.

Referee Sam Barrott turned away penalty appeals from City following a challenge by Cameron Burgess on Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall and Patson Daka was denied by Hladky.

Just before the half-time break a sweeping cross into the Leicester penalty area from Davis was cleared by a stretching Wout Faes to prevent substitute Kayden Jackson meeting the ball at the far post.

Vestergaard grazed the roof of the Ipswich net with his header following a free-kick by Dewsbury-Hall and Conor Chaplin just failed to catch Leicester goalkeeper Mads Hermansen off his line with a shot from just inside the Foxes’ half.

Hermansen then had to dive full length to tip a stunning shot from Chaplin round the post and the Ipswich striker fired over the bar from just inside the penalty area.

Dewsbury-Hall then went down in the penalty area following a challenge by Davis but the referee waved play on and Ipswich grabbed a deserved equaliser in the final moments.

Enzo Maresca insists his Leicester side are still improving and learning after easing to a 3-0 win against bottom-placed Rotherham to move six points clear at the top of the Championship.

The Foxes opened the scoring on the hour mark when Patson Daka finished from close range before the striker doubled the lead from the penalty spot five minutes later after he was fouled by Viktor Johansson.

On-loan midfielder Cesare Casadei sealed the points after 72 minutes with a diving header from Ricardo Pereira’s cross from the left to earn the Foxes a fifth successive league victory.

Maresca said: “I’m very happy, at the start of the season I didn’t expect to have this many points at the halfway stage, nobody expected that.

“Winning 19 out of 23 games is not easy but we have many things that we need to improve.

“We are learning how to play teams who sit and who play with a high press, it’s not easy. I was happy with the first half because we were doing the right things.

“We created three or four clear chances in the first half which is difficult against this type of team, when they sit back it’s complicated to find a solution.

“In the end we did the most difficult thing and scored a goal and it was easier after the goal.

“The target is to get promoted, we need to continue, we are almost in January, the players know if some of them drop (their levels) they won’t play.”

Rotherham are nine points from safety at the foot of the table and have failed to win any of their last 11 league matches having lost all three games under new boss Leam Richardson.

Richardson said: “It’s a challenging league and a challenging position that we’re in but one of the things we can guarantee is that we’ll make a right good fist of it.

“It’s my job to build a habit and instil a mentality within the training ground that filters out onto the pitch, if we do that, we’ll make a fist of it.

“You can go into any football club and have an ideal way of playing and what you want to do and force things on the players.

“The best thing to do is find the good attributes you’ve got within the group and try and bring them to the front as quick as you can and build from that platform.

“Every game we’ve got to try and deliver a performance, there’s a lot of work to do and a lot of things that need to happen to move forward.

“Everything is a habit, winning is a habit, losing is a habit, if you’ve got bad habits you’ll serve for them but if you’ve got strong habits they’ll come to the front and that’s what we need to change.”

Patson Daka’s second-half brace helped Leicester move six points clear at the top of the Championship with a comfortable 3-0 win against bottom-placed Rotherham.

After a goalless first period, Daka opened the scoring on the hour mark with a simple finish from close range before then converting from the penalty spot five minutes later after he was fouled by Rotherham goalkeeper Viktor Johansson.

Foxes substitute Cesare Casadei completed the scoring with a diving header in the 72nd minute as the home side secured a fifth straight league win to extend their lead at the top following Ipswich’s heavy defeat at Leeds in the early kick-off.

Rotherham remain rooted to the foot of the table, nine points from safety, having lost all matches under new boss Leam Richardson and are winless in their last 11 league games.

The Foxes created the game’s first chance when a short corner was played to Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall who cut in from the left before curling a shot well over the crossbar.

Soon after, Dewsbury-Hall burst into the box only to be denied by Johansson who was quick off his line to smother the midfielder’s effort.

Nigeria international Wilfred Ndidi was next to try his luck, driving a low shot straight at Johansson from distance.

Clear-cut chances were at a premium in the first half, as Stephy Mavididi blazed a volley high into the stand when left unmarked at the back post.

And shortly before half-time, Foxes defender Wout Faes blasted an effort over the bar in frustration from 25 yards.

Leicester almost broke the deadlock early in the second half when Abdul Fatawu caught Hakeem Odoffin in possession inside his own box only for Sean Morrison to make a superb goalline clearance and deny Daka the opening goal.

Johansson then made a crucial save to keep out Ricardo Pereira’s shot from inside the box before bravely claiming the loose ball.

However, the Foxes finally made the breakthrough on the hour mark as Daka finished from close range after Johansson saved Faes’ initial effort and Ndidi miskicked the ball into the scorer’s path.

And the home side won a penalty four minutes later when Daka took the ball around Johansson only to have his legs taken away by the goalkeeper after the Millers were caught in possession deep inside their own half.

Daka duly picked himself up to coolly fire the resulting penalty into the bottom left corner and score his fourth goal in as many league matches.

Leicester made sure of the points 18 minutes from time when substitute Casadei placed a diving header into the bottom right corner from Pereira’s cross from the left, just two minutes after coming off the bench.

The Foxes have now scored three or more goals in each of their last four games while Rotherham are winless on the road in 24 matches dating back to November 2022.

Birmingham boss Wayne Rooney said he could understand why Leicester excessively celebrated a goal in front of home fans after his side were beaten 3-2 by the Sky Bet Championship leaders.

Leicester forward Stephy Mavididi was booked after climbing an advertising hoarding and goading Blues supporters in the Tilton End behind the goal at St. Andrew’s.

“There’s emotion in the game and players celebrate – I got a mobile phone thrown at me at Anfield, so players have their reasons,” said Rooney.

“Of course you want players to be respectful of the fans and I’m sure I’ll have one of my players do something to upset away fans.

“It’s good that they can celebrate – I don’t mean against us, but I was listening to the Chelsea game on the radio driving home the other day and a goal went in but no one celebrated because they were waiting for VAR to check it.

“It’s good they can look across and see they are onside and celebrate their goals.”

Rooney admitted Birmingham were “naive”, adding: “For 30 minutes we were really good – we pressed them really well and created chances.

“But we were naive for their first two goals and we allowed them to control the last 10 minutes of the first half.”

Leicester took the lead from a speedy breakaway from a Birmingham corner in the 10th minute.

Abdul Fatawu sped away and squared to Mavididi to dink over goalkeeper John Ruddy.

Jordan James levelled after 15 minutes, finding the bottom corner with a low shot after Siriki Dembele squared to Ivan Sunjic, who supplied the final pass.

Leicester regained the lead after 22 minutes when Ricardo Pereira dispossessed Juninho Bacuna and Fatawu again raced goalwards, releasing Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall to round Ruddy and slot home.

Mavidivi made it 3-1 in the 50th minute when his curling shot from 15 yards took a slight deflection and flew past Ruddy, before James’ shot deflected in off Jannik Vestergaard for 3-2 after 74 minutes.

Leicester manager Enzo Maresca admitted his team “don’t like” counter-attacking, despite scoring their first two goals from breaks.

“We don’t like counter-attacking but sometimes you need to use it,” he said. “We plan the game, but it depends on how the opponent tries to defend against us.

“We struggled for the first 15-20 minutes then we were completely in control, creating chances.

“But when you don’t take your chances, the opponent is there waiting, so they scored their second goal.

“Even after that, I liked the way the team behaved all together so I’m very happy.”

Stephy Mavididi scored twice as Leicester extended their lead at the top of the Sky Bet Championship to three points with a 3-2 win against Birmingham at St Andrew’s.

Leicester fans wore Jamie Vardy masks in support of their absent striker, whose wife Rebekah lost a court case against Blues boss Wayne Rooney’s wife Coleen after a judge ruled Vardy’s wife passed on information about Rooney to the press.

A dramatic start saw three goals in the first 22 minutes.

Birmingham created the first opening but midfielder Jordan James’ low, bouncing drive was straight at goalkeeper Mads Hermansen.

Blues forced two early saves from the Danish stopper, who blocked Siriki Dembele’s shot with his legs then tipped over Krystian Bielik’s back header from Marc Roberts’ long throw-in.

Leicester took the lead from a speedy breakaway from a Blues corner in the 10th minute – after James Justin’s sliced clearance cannoned off his own post.

Abdul Fatawu sped away, and in a two-v-one, squared to Mavididi to dink the ball over advancing keeper John Ruddy for a classy finish.

Mavididi was booked for climbing the advertising hoarding and goading Birmingham fans in his celebration.

Rooney’s side were level after 15 minutes when James found the bottom corner with a low shot after Dembele squared to Ivan Sunjic, who supplied the killer pass.

Leicester regained the lead in the 22nd minute in another lightning counter-attack which started on the edge of their own box.

This time Ricardo Pereira dispossessed Juninho Bacuna and Fatawu again raced goalwards, releasing Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall to round Ruddy and slot into an empty net for his seventh goal of the season.

Leicester went close to extending their lead when Dewsbury-Hall crossed deep inside the area but Patson Daka fired wide with a first-time effort from seven yards, before the Zambia striker curled well off target on the angle.

The visitors made it 3-1 in the 50th minute when Mavididi’s curling shot from 15 yards took a slight deflection and flew past Ruddy.

Leicester wasted other chances but Blues jangled their nerves when a James shot deflected in off Jannik Vestergaard to make it 3-2 after 74 minutes.

Inspired by the goal, Birmingham applied pressure but struggled to penetrate Leicester’s determined rearguard as the visitors stayed firm to make it four straight wins and six matches unbeaten.

Leicester manager Enzo Maresca says Patson Daka is capable of holding off Jamie Vardy and Kelechi Iheanacho when both strikers are fit again after scoring in the 3-2 win over Millwall.

Zambia international Daka netted for the second game running as the Foxes came from behind to secure a victory which sent them back to the top of the Championship table, moving them one point ahead of Ipswich.

It was only Daka’s second start of the season after having to wait for his chance with injured Vardy and ill Iheanacho both missing.

Maresca confirmed that Vardy’s knee issue will keep him out of Monday’s match at Birmingham, now managed by Wayne Rooney, but Iheanacho is set to be available.

The Italian says Daka, who will go to the African Cup of Nations next month, deserves to stay in the team.

“I’ve been quite clear with them,” said Maresca.

“If you’re playing, you deserve it. If someone comes in and they’re doing well, you need to work.

“Patson is scoring goals and working hard, after three or four months of having to wait. We’re going to trust him and give him more chances, no doubt.”

Millwall took the lead through Tom Bradshaw, but second-half goals from Jannik Vestergaard, Daka and Ricardo Pereira, whose shot was deflected in off Wilfred Ndidi, settled the game.

Maresca added: “It was a tough game. We expected them in one way. But since the new manager arrived, they have played always in a line of four. Here, they came here with a line of five and two holding midfielders.

“In the first half, we were in control of the game, but without creating clear chances. At half-time, we adjusted some things.

“Instead of attacking with five, we attacked with six. We brought one more player in the last line. It was much better second half for sure.”

A stoppage-time goal from Millwall substitute Kevin Nisbet proved no more than a consolation.

“We came here with with clear plan, which is all well and good, but the players have to execute it,” said Millwall manager Joe Edwards.

“I thought they did it to a tee in the first half. We had our moments. At half-time, we were pleased with our work and knew we’d given ourselves a chance.

“We felt confident we could go and do it again. But we conceded a sloppy goal, and after that we weren’t quick enough to things. Not clinical.

“Then we started playing well again in the last 10 minutes. For two minutes at the end, it’s game on.

“You’re always hoping to win, but a draw would’ve been a great result. We felt that if we came to Leicester with a high press and went toe to toe with them, we wouldn’t get any rewards by losing 4-0.

“But we felt we wanted to show we could offer a threat. It was a frustrated place at half-time, you could feel that. That’s what we came to do. The question then is ‘how long can we sustain it?’”

Leicester fought back to beat Millwall 3-2 and regain top spot in the Championship.

Enzo Maresca’s side netted three second-half goals to put them back in control after Tom Bradshaw had opened the scoring for the visitors.

Jannik Vestergaard’s header levelled the scores after 48 minutes before Patson Daka scored for the second game running. The Zambia striker put the ball over the line from close range in the 52nd minute.

Ricardo Pereira scored Leicester’s third from the edge of the penalty area with a shot that took a deflection off team-mate Wilfred Ndidi and wrong-footed Millwall goalkeeper Matija Sarkic.

Millwall scored a second goal in stoppage time when substitute Kevin Nisbet forced the ball home from a corner.

Leicester lost top spot to Ipswich on Tuesday night, but they now lead them by a point.

Jamie Vardy missed the game with a knee injury and Kelechi Iheanacho was ill, so Daka got another chance after scoring against Plymouth on Saturday.

Millwall have now only won one of the last 11 games, but they took the game to Leicester and opened the scoring when Murray Wallace shook off Abdul Fatawu and crossed for Bradshaw to glance a header into the top corner.

Leicester looked to have won a penalty after 38 minutes when Fatawu went down under a challenge from Wes Harding, who was already on a yellow card. But all appeals were waved away by referee Keith Stroud, with defender Conor Coady booked for his protests.

Leicester began the second half strongly and equalised when Vestergaard connected with a Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall cross and saw his header loop over the line.

They scored a second through Daka. Harry Winks started the move, found Ndidi on the left, and his cross was met by Daka who chested the ball in from two yards.

Leicester were fully in control by the hour mark, and Stephy Mavididi almost made it three when he connected with a Fatawu cross, but headed into the side-netting.

Leicester confirmed their third win in a row when Pereira’s shot found its way in, but Millwall’s second goal came too late to trouble the Foxes.

Enzo Maresca felt Championship leaders Leicester thoroughly deserved their thumping 4-0 win over Plymouth as they secured their biggest victory of the season so far.

Leicester took the lead through Stephy Mavididi’s 14th-minute penalty before Patson Daka coolly found the net four minutes into the second period and the former struck again with a drilled effort after 52 minutes to make it three.

The Foxes completed the scoring after 55 minutes courtesy of Wilfred Ndidi’s accurate finish, the Nigeria international continuing to impress boss Maresca, who has given the midfielder more of an attacking role this term.

Maresca said: “It was a very good performance, we completely deserved the three points, we controlled the game really well.

“We are trying to improve the way we play. We know we have the best defence and we have scored the second most goals in the league.

“Wilf has improved a lot. In terms of physicality you expect everything, you don’t expect quality (in the final third), but since day one I can see there is something there.

“I’m happy because when you see a player making the effort to understand how they have to play it’s good and he deserves it.

“The situation with Patson has been a bit strange. Since day one he has worked and behaved fantastically, but because I play with one striker he hasn’t got many minutes.

“It was a chance for him and he took it and I’m very happy for him because he completely deserves it.”

Plymouth suffered their heaviest defeat of the season and remain winless in 10 matches on their travels this campaign.

Argyle boss Steven Schumacher said: “We’re disappointed with the result. I was really pleased with a lot of aspects, the performance, effort and commitment was outstanding.

“We should have been level at half-time. In the second half we’ve been undone by one moment of quality and a couple of mistakes.

“As long as the players keep putting the effort in, which I know they are and our fans can see that they are, then we’ll be fine.

“We just didn’t have enough quality to put the ball in the back of the net. They’ve got better players than us and are more clinical and have played at a better level, we’re doing the best we can.

“The fans can see we’re giving it our all and doing our best, unfortunately we just came up against a team who are better than us.

“We cannot let our standard drop, we can’t let the energy drop, we need to be a bit more clinical in both boxes.”

Stephy Mavididi scored twice as Leicester cruised to a comfortable 4-0 win at home to Plymouth to remain top of the Championship table.

Mavididi opened the scoring from the penalty spot after 14 minutes before the Foxes scored three goals in a scintillating seven-minute spell after the break to take the game out of Argyle’s reach.

Patson Daka doubled Leicester’s lead with a cool finish after 49 minutes before Mavididi drilled home his second of the game just three minutes later.

Nigeria international Wilfred Ndidi completed the scoring in the 55th minute, finishing in off a post from Daka’s pass to ensure the Foxes remain one point clear at the top of the table.

Plymouth in contrast are winless in 10 league games on the road this season.

The game burst into life when Mavididi went to ground in the box under a challenge from Julio Pleguezuelo before stepping up to roll the resulting penalty into the bottom left corner.

Enzo Maresca’s side spurned a glorious chance to double their lead four minutes later as Ndidi shot straight at Argyle goalkeeper Michael Cooper when one on one after being played through by Harry Winks’ delightful pass.

Moments later Daka, making his first league start of the season, somehow failed to score from point-blank range at the back post before Abdul Fatawu’s curling shot went inches wide.

Plymouth’s best chance of the game fell to Mustupha Bundu just past the half-hour mark as Foxes goalkeeper Mads Hermansen made a crucial save to deny the Argyle attacker when one on one.

Leicester wasted another chance to stretch their lead before the break with Ndidi just unable to reach a ball across the box with the goal at his mercy following a blistering counter-attack.

The visitors almost drew level in first-half injury time as Hermansen kept out Callum Wright’s low shot with his legs.

However, the home side eventually doubled their lead four minutes into the second half as Daka opened his Championship account for the season with a cool finish into the bottom left corner from Fatawu’s flick.

The home side struck again as Mavididi showed excellent feet before drilling a low effort past Cooper from inside the area to all but end the game as a contest.

And Leicester made it four after 55 minutes as Ndidi passed the ball in off the left-hand post from a tight angle from Daka’s pass after Hamza Choudhury won possession deep in the Plymouth half.

The Foxes had chances to further add to their lead as Cooper made an excellent save to keep out Jannik Vestergaard’s header at the back post from Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall’s cross.

Argyle never gave up and went close to a consolation goal when substitute Luke Cundle fired straight at Hermansen when well-placed in the box.

Peter Wright admits he “created a monster” by allowing Luke Humphries to claim his first major in October, but does not think the hottest player on tour will win the World Championship.

Wright missed three match darts to beat Humphries in the quarter-finals in Leicester, allowing the 28-year-old to take victory and go on to win the tournament.

He quickly followed that up by lifting the Grand Slam of Darts and the Players Championship last month, which means he will head to Alexandra Palace for the season-ending spectacular as favourite.

‘Snakebite’, who ended a near two-year major trophy drought by winning the European Championship recently, thinks it could be too soon for Humphries this year.

“He is favourite because he has won three out of the last four majors, and I won the other one,” two-time world champion Wright told the PA news agency.

“I was the only other person to get close to him. It’s my fault, I created a monster because I had three darts at the Grand Prix to beat him and that was his first major. If I’d done that things would have been different.

“He’s a great darts player but I think it is a little bit too soon. Yes, I think he will win the worlds but just not yet.”

Wright’s second world title won at the start of 2022 must seem like a long time ago for the 53-year-old, who has struggled for consistent form.

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He still remains confident he can become just the third person to win more than two world crowns and says his winning know-how gives him an advantage.

“I believe I can win it, I am not playing until December 20 so it gives me three weeks tinkering with my darts to make them 95 or 98 per cent perfect, that’ll do.

“There is potential to become a third-time world champion. That is in my sights and I am looking forward to it.

“It puts a lot of pressure off my shoulders to know I have won it twice. I think I have got a lot of advantage over a lot of the field.

“I am nowhere near my best at the moment, but I know what it takes to win. I decided to go and put the practice in and I went and won the European. I have put my focus on the Worlds, to be prepared for winning it one more time.”

Tournament sponsor Paddy Power have teamed up with Prostate UK and will donate £1,000 for every 180 thrown.

Wright believes there will be more maximums than ever before as a result and urged men to answer three simple questions to check their risk for a disease which affects one in eight men.

“It’s a great cause, the sponsor putting up £1,000 for every 180 hit, there was 901 last year and I think there will be more this year,” Wright added.

“I think players won’t switch down to 19, they will stay up there and try and get another 180 for Prostate Cancer UK. It affects one in eight men. I’m 53 so I need to be getting checked.”

:: It takes 30 seconds to answer three questions to check your prostate cancer risk. Do it now by clicking on the following link: prostatecanceruk.org/180-risk.

Two more National Hunt meetings have fallen to the weather, with today’s fixture at Southwell and Thursday’s Leicester card both abandoned.

Southwell was hit by a further 9mm of rain overnight, which has left the turf track waterlogged and not fit for racing.

That means there will be no jump racing in Britain for the second successive day, after Ayr and Plumpton were lost yesterday.

There will, however, be all-weather Flat racing at Lingfield this afternoon and Wolverhampton this evening.

Leicester have already thrown in the towel regarding Thursday’s National Hunt fixture, with melting snow and heavy rain leaving the course waterlogged.

The British Horseracing Authority has scheduled an additional all-weather meeting at Southwell for that afternoon.

Leicester manager Enzo Maresca said it was “unbelievable” his team were given less time to recover than opponents West Brom despite beating them 2-1 in a dramatic late finish.

The Foxes briefly extended their lead at the top of the Sky Bet Championship to four points after Harry Winks scored a stoppage-time winner to cancel out substitute Josh Maja’s 89th-minute equaliser.

Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall put Leicester in front after 72 minutes before unselfishly opting to set up Winks four minutes into time added on.

“It was a very difficult game because of them and because when you play Wednesday night and Saturday lunchtime it’s not easy, and they played Tuesday night, so they had 24 hours more to recover the energy,” said Maresca.

“For me it’s unbelievable when you play Wednesday night and Saturday – both teams have to play together (at the same time), not one on Tuesday and one on Wednesday because the difference is huge.”

Maresca claimed some of his players were tired during the game.

“Wilfred (Ndidi) came back from a long-term injury, we gave him some rest on Wednesday night but you could see he wasn’t fresh,” added the Italian.

“Wout Faes did a big effort to be there, and Jannik (Vestergaard), JJ (James Justin) the same.”

Dewsbury-Hall was Leicester’s standout player after scoring his sixth goal of the season and setting up the other, but Maresca wants more from him.

“In terms of goals, he is where he has to be, but with assists I’m not happy, because this one was quite easy,” he said. “He has to improve his last pass because he’s had many chances.”

Leicester led in the 72nd minute when Dewsbury-Hall headed home Ndidi’s cross.

Albion equalised in the 89th minute when Faes headed away Darnell Furlong’s throw-in and, when the ball came back in, Cedric Kipre helped it on and the grounded Ricardo Pereira could only tee up Maja to net his first Albion goal.

For the winner, Leicester broke following a long Albion throw-in and Kelechi Iheanacho found Dewsbury-Hall, who dribbled 40 yards before drawing Alex Palmer and slipping in Winks.

West Brom head coach Carlos Corberan admitted he had no regrets at going for broke instead of settling for a draw after the equaliser.

“We weren’t trying to defend the result – we were attacking how I think you need to attack, but prior to the throw-in we should have defended more calmly, not as aggressive so as not to give them the option to score,” he said.

“We attacked how we always attack. Sometimes to change something is negative.

“If I told my centre-backs not to go up (to join the attack), having scored a goal two minutes ago, at home, I’d have regretted this.

“There are many small aspects to correct – not just because we lost, but to not suffer transitions against opponents.

“The next time we have a throw-in, we must be prepared to not only try to score, but to try to score without the risk of suffering the transition.

“In the 93rd minute, sometimes you make mistakes because of the emotion, not even the emotion to attack, but the emotion to recover the ball, to help your team and to try to make a foul, to keep running.

“We are humans, this is why football is magic. These things happen.”

Harry Winks scored a last-gasp winner as Sky Bet Championship leaders Leicester beat West Brom 2-1 in a dramatic finish to give manager Enzo Maresca a winning first return to The Hawthorns.

Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall’s 72nd-minute header – his sixth goal of the season – gave Leicester the lead and the midfielder then set up Winks in the fourth minute of stoppage time after substitute Josh Maja looked like he had rescued a point.

Maresca, who started his professional career at West Brom and played 47 games there between 1998-2000, will have been relieved as there was little between the teams, who both hit the goal frame in the first half.

West Brom had a penalty claim turned down when Grady Diangana went down after it appeared he was pushed over in the box; VAR might have intervened if it was available.

Albion then failed to react quickly enough when goalkeeper Mads Hermansen played a poor pass out and it was intercepted, Brandon Thomas-Asante eventually having a shot blocked.

The home side went even closer in the 25th minute when Cedric Kipre stabbed against a post with the goalkeeper beaten after Matt Phillips’s corner had flicked off a couple of heads.

But Leicester returned fire to hit the goal frame themselves when Kelechi Iheanacho’s low angled drive was deflected onto the near post by Darnell Furlong’s lunge.

It looked like things might open up after the break when Diangana’s curling shot was deflected over the bar off Wout Faes.

But instead it became very scrappy, with both teams guilty of giving the ball away in midfield and defences remained on top.

That almost changed when Wilfred Ndidi got on the end of a cross from substitute Abdul Fatawu, but his flicked header under pressure lacked the power to beat Alex Palmer, who fumbled before the ball was cleared.

The Ndidi-Fatawu link-up combined again to devastating effect in the 72nd minute.

Fatawu spotted Ndidi’s run beyond the Albion midfield in the inside right position and the latter crossed for Dewsbury-Hall to nod the ball home ahead of Furlong from six yards out.

Albion equalised in very scrappy fashion. Furlong’s throw-in was headed away by Faes and, when the ball came back in, Kipre helped it on – a grounded Leicester defender could only tee up Maja to prod home his first goal since February 2022.

But Leicester hit Albion on the counter when they broke on a long throw-in and Iheanacho passed from inside his own half to Dewsbury-Hall, who ran 40 yards with the ball before drawing Palmer and slipping in Winks for an open goal.

Danny Rohl hailed a “massive” point for Sheffield Wednesday and urged everyone to keep believing in his team after they came from behind to secure a 1-1 draw against leaders Leicester.

The Owls, bottom of the Championship, levelled with a stoppage-time equaliser from Jeff Hendrick after the visitors had led through Abdul Fatawu’s first-half goal.

Rohl said: “Our players did so very well today. When you look how we played against the first of the table, how we pressed and how we played football.

“We had two big chances after five minutes to go in the lead. We believed in our match-plan and we did well.

“It’s a good feeling at the end that we had a happy end. It’s important that everybody is believing in us, supporting us and sometimes being a little bit patient.

“I know that sometimes it looks a little bit calm but we need this calmness to prepare the next action.

“My players did very well. It was good energy. It’s not easy when you play a team with so much quality. It’s a Premier League team. We fight for everything.

“It is massive for us. I believe in my players and I believe in the club. I’m in the right place and I enjoy every single day. I’m looking to Saturday to do it again.

“We deserved it. We pressed at the right moment and prepared good actions.

“At the end, I take the point for sure. I think it was deserved and it is great to see how we can work as a team together.”

Leicester’s lead came on 28 minutes when Stephy Mavididi sent over a cross from the left which went all the way to the unmarked Fatawu at the far post and he chested the ball down before firing past keeper Cameron Dawson.

The equaliser came in the third minute of time added on when the ball was lofted into the area and Callum Paterson’s cushioned header fell perfectly into the path of Hendrick who finished with ease.

Leicester manager Enzo Maresca was not too down-hearted with the result.

He said: “Championship games, they never finish. Sometimes we can concede, like tonight. That’s been a shame because the game was almost finished. At the end we concede.

“We try always but we know it’s not easy because sometimes, even if you see the table tonight, the first against the last, but it’s complicated.

“This team draw away against Leeds so you never know. I think we controlled the game but at the end we then concede the draw.

“For sure we could do something better, no doubt, on the ball and off the ball, but it is what it is.

“Still top but this is a long race. In less than 72 hours, we have one more game. Now it is a matter of recovery. The most important thing is to recover the energy.

“We could do many things better. We create some chances where we need to be a bit more clinical. I think at two-nil the game is finished – we kill the game.

“The idea was to allow players to recover for the next game. You need to refresh.”

Struggling Sheffield Wednesday snatched a stoppage-time equaliser against Championship leaders Leicester in a 1-1 draw at Hillsborough.

Jeff Hendrick netted in the third minute of injury time to earn bottom side Wednesday a deserved point after a spirited performance following Abdul Fatawu’s 23rd-minute opener for the Foxes.

Wednesday skipper Barry Bannan spurned a golden opportunity inside the opening 30 seconds, dragging his shot wide after finding himself through on goal following a mistake from Ricardo Pereira.

Callum Paterson threatened to punish another defensive lapse minutes later, with Bannan again involved before the striker saw his effort blocked.

Another chance came Wednesday’s way when a Will Vaulks free-kick was met by Bambo Diaby, whose header was comfortably saved by Mads Hermansen.

Leicester’s lead came when Stephy Mavididi sent over a cross from the left which went all the way to the unmarked Fatawu at the far post and he chested the ball down before firing past keeper Cameron Dawson.

Bailey Cadamarteri had a chance in the latter stages of the half when the ball fell to him but his well-struck shot was blocked.

Wednesday’s George Byers then had a tame effort easily saved by Hermansen after the break as the hosts continued to threaten.

Kasey McAteer had a chance to extend Leicester’s lead late on but he poked the ball wide after receiving a pass from Jamie Vardy.

Wednesday’s Marvin Johnson then fired in a low shot but it was straight at Hermansen.

But the equaliser came in the third minute of time added on when the ball was lofted into the area and Paterson’s cushioned header fell perfectly into the path of Hendrick who finished with ease.

Jannik Vestergaard threatened to score with a header at the death, forcing Dawson to make an important save to preserve an impressive point for Danny Rohl’s side.