Ulloa returns from wilderness to keep Foxes in the hunt for late escape
WHEN even injuries are working in Leicester’s favour, other teams around the relegation zone really should begin to worry. Leonardo Ulloa was not supposed to be starting this match, left out having failed to score in the Premier League since St Stephen’s Day.
But when David Nugent suffered injury in the warm-up, Ulloa found reprieve. Inside 15 minutes he scored a goal that provided the platform for a victory that looks increasingly like being part of a truly great escape.
That familiar melody was hummed loudly by Leicester’s fans at fulltime, fuelled by Andy King’s late second goal and the sight of their team moving off the bottom of the table for the first time since November 29.
One more goal would have taken them out of the relegation places, but much more like this and that will come. A third Premier League win in a row for Leicester, the first time they have managed that feat since 2000, was richly deserved and the product of a dynamic display. The trip to Burnley cannot arrive soon enough.
‘It’s another very good win for us,’ said Nigel Pearson, who tailored his team and formation throughout the game to keep the tempo high. ‘The situation we’re in leaves not much margin for error, so to achieve three on the trot is a big plus for us. We have to keep our fate in our own hands for as long as possible.’
Leicester emerged for this game looking like, one imagines, the pack of dogs Pearson once fought off with a stick while hiking in the Carpathian mountains. They had feral ferocity and, in the 15th minute, the lead.
Following a corner the ball was recycled to Marcin Wasilewski, who launched a long ball from halfway that Ulloa flicked on to Wes Morgan. The defender fed it back to the Argentine who lashed home under the diving Ashley Williams.
Swansea were
strangely off key, and remain searching for a point to surpass their Premier League record haul. They did fashion an excellent chance in the 67th minute, only for Kasper Schmeichel to pull off a stunning save. Nelson Oliveira was sent clear by Gylfi Sigurdsson and stayed on his feet when Robert Huth made a desperate lunge but found Schmeichel’s star jump impossible to beat.
‘I know it was a good save but he should score that,’ said Garry Monk. ‘The defender made a rash challenge and had he gone down it would have been a penalty and a red card.’
In the 73rd minute Jamie Vardy led a twoon-one breakaway but over-hit his pass to Riyad Mahrez, allowing Swansea keeper Lukasz Fabianski time to dive and block.
A minute from time Leicester sealed the win. Esteban Cambiasso, superb all afternoon, fired a free-kick through Swansea’s wall, Fabianski spilled the ball, and King applied the tap-in. LEICESTER (3-4-1-2): Schmeichel 7; Wasilewski 6 (De Laet 46min, 6), Huth 6.5, Morgan 6.5; Albrighton 7, King 7, Cambiasso 7.5, Schlupp 6.5; Kramaric 6 (Drinkwater 74); Ulloa 7 (Mahrez 68), Vardy 7. Subs (not used): Konchesky, James, Lawrence, Schwarzer. SWANSEA (4-2-3-1): Fabianski 6.5; Rangel 6, Fernandez 5.5, Williams 6, Amat 5.5; Cork 6, Ki 5.5 (Montero 58, 6); Routledge 6 (Dyer 70, 5), Shelvey 6, Sigurdsson 5; Oliveira 5 (Emnes 75, 5). SUBS (NOT USED): Britton, Grimes, Tremmel, Bartley. Booked: Amat, Shelvey. REFEREE: L Probert (Wiltshire), 6.