Fatawu fires Foxes to brink of promotion
ONE more. After a season of ups and downs for Pep Guardiola’s former right- hand man Enzo Maresca at Leicester, the finish line is in sight.
A bit later than many predicted, but the Foxes are now just one win away from making an instant return to the Premier League.
A hat-trick from Abdul Fatawu (below), plus goals from Wilfred Ndidi and Jamie Vardy, helped Leicester to a thumping victory over a sub-par Southampton, who looked more like relegation fodder than promotion hopefuls.
They were 14 points clear of third place on Valentine’s Day and looked to be romping to promotion but, as many London Marathon runners will attest, maintaining endurance in the final miles is just as important as a flying start. They stumbled but are finishing in style.
The victory leaves Leicester needing to beat one of Preston or Blackburn in their final two games to win promotion. This was billed as a potential banana skin but ended up an utter annihilation as Leicester quietened any critics and asserted their status as the best side in the division. Foxes fans would have been kicking every ball from their living rooms on Monday night as Middlesbrough gave Leeds a run for their money but ultimately lost 4-3. A Leeds defeat would have enabled Leicester to confirm promotion with a win here. But Daniel Farke’s side showed their relentlessness with a performance that said, ‘Over to you, Leicester’. The Foxes’ recent form has been patchy — four wins in the previous 11 — but the mood inside the King Power Stadium was one of determination rather than nerves and the hosts started this match like they began the season. Maresca’s side won 13 of their first 14 league games and that sensational start has acted as a safety net for this late-season stumble.
The Foxes had to wait until the 25th minute to open the scoring but they had already seen Ndidi curl one inches wide and Fatawu go close after doing well to work some space for himself.
The goal was a touch of class, with defence, midfield and attack all involved. Wout Faes won the ball on the halfway line, quickly fed Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, and the midfielder played an exquisite, defence-splitting pass to Fatawu.
The 20-year-old, on loan from Portuguese league leaders Sporting, had made a clever run off the ball and took the pass in his stride before passing into the far corner.
Ndidi scored the second with a thumping 62nd-minute header after a perfect Stephy Mavididi cross before Fatawu added the third with a lovely curling strike from 20 yards. Leicester sealed a dominant victory with two quickfire goals as Vardy added a fourth before Fatawu completed his hattrick in the 81st minute.
A thumping chant of ‘We are going up’ followed. This league loves a plot twist but it is hard to see any other outcome now.