With their season-best performance against Southampton, Leicester City pulled off a sensational hat-trick led by Abdul Fatawu to put them one victory away from promotion.
The Ghanaian scored three goals, including a fantastic curling attempt, as he tortured the Saints defense as City crushed their opponents in response to the pressure of the big game. A threat all night long, Fatawu also set up Jamie Vardy, and Wilfred Ndidi also scored.
With three points, City only needs to defeat Blackburn or Preston to guarantee their return to the Premier League. But should Leeds lose to QPR this Friday, they might ascend without kicking another ball.
For the match, Enzo Maresca made two adjustments. Despite his heroics against West Brom, Ricardo Pereira replaced Hamza Choudhury, and Wout Faes moved inside and Conor Coady was benched as James Justin returned to left-back. For the second time in four days, Jamie Vardy started, which is unusual for the 37-year-old this season.
Big-game nerves impacted both teams for the first ten minutes, but City recovered from them and settled into their rhythm the fastest. By the fifteenth minute, there were plenty of opportunities: Stephy Mavididi came close to hooking a volley in after meeting a deep ball, Ndidi bent just wide, and Fatawu fired at Alex McCarthy.
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