Leicester City suffered their sixth consecutive league defeat as clinical Crystal Palace secured a 2-0 victory at the King Power Stadium.
Despite dominating the game and creating numerous opportunities, Leicester’s wastefulness in front of goal proved costly.
The Foxes registered their highest shot count of the season and came agonizingly close to scoring when Boubakary Soumare struck the bar after halftime. However, their inability to convert chances, particularly from Jamie Vardy, left them vulnerable.
Leicester started brightly, seemingly buoyed by their 6-2 FA Cup triumph over QPR, and controlled the opening stages.
A golden opportunity arose when Stephy Mavididi played Vardy through on goal, but the striker could only fire straight at Dean Henderson.
Crystal Palace, who had offered little attacking threat in the first half, capitalized on Leicester’s defensive frailties early in the second period.
Their first shot on target arrived in the 51st minute, and it was devastatingly effective. Ismaila Sarr threaded a perfect pass to Jean-Philippe Mateta, who rounded Jakub Stolarczyk to break the deadlock.
Leicester continued to push for an equalizer, with Soumare coming closest to finding the net, but their lack of cutting edge left them exposed.
Palace delivered the decisive blow when Marc Guehi fired a powerful volley past Stolarczyk following a clever free-kick from Eberechi Eze.
Guehi’s performance was particularly noteworthy amid ongoing transfer interest from Chelsea, though the recall of Trevoh Chalobah earlier in the day suggests he may remain at Selhurst Park for now.
Ruud van Nistelrooy’s Leicester side, who have struggled to find consistent goal-scoring form, were left to rue missed opportunities against a Palace team now unbeaten in six league matches.
The victory lifted Palace to 14th, overtaking Manchester United, while Leicester remain in 19th place, two points adrift of safety.
