Leicester leave it late to win at West Brom

Leicester City boss Enzo Maresca made a winning return to The Hawthorns as the Foxes left it late to beat his old club West Bromwich Albion.

Josh Maja’s late scrambled equaliser looked to have earned Albion a point in the 89th minute – his first goal for the Baggies.

But, with Albion chasing a winner, four minutes into added time, Dewsbury-Hall raced clear down the inside-left channel on a counter attack before squaring for Harry Winks to side-foot home the winner just inside the right post, to end a wobbly run of just one win in four games.

It stretched Leicester’s lead on top of the Championship to four points over second-placed Ipswich, ahead of the rest of the afternoon’s fixtures.

Carlos Corberan’s Baggies had won five of their previous six games but, in the end, were overpowered by the Foxes’ overall superiority.

Even Jamie Vardy, who had scored six times in five previous visits to The Hawthorns, was left on the bench as an unused substitute along with the likes of Conor Coady and Harry Souttar as the Foxes showed the true strength of their title-chasing squad.

Maresca’s promising 17 months as an Albion player ended happily for the Baggies when they banked £4m from his surprise sale to Juventus in January 2000, at a time when the club badly needed the money.

The Italian’s first return to The Hawthorns as a manager almost 24 years on coincided with another worrying time on the financial front for the Baggies, who are up for sale and this week announced that they had taken on an extra loan.

But the Baggies have remained remarkably competitive under boss Carlos Corberan – and gave the Foxes a very good game.

They were closest to breaking the deadlock when Cedric Kipre’s unwitting effort off his outstretched left leg from a corner cannoned back off the left upright.

But Leicester also hit the woodwork when Stephy Mavididi’s powerfully-struck effort deflected off Darnell Furlong, then the post and out for a corner.

Ndidi was then denied from a tight angle by Albion keeper Alex Palmer before Dewsbury-Hall, a late two-goal matchwinner against Coventry City on the opening weekend of the season, again showed his scorn for Midlands opposition when he timed his run to meet Ndidi’s cross and power home a closer-ranger header.

Substitute Maja then gave the Baggies hope when he levelled, just 14 minutes after coming on, only for that to be snuffed out by that Leicester breakaway winner.