Leicester City manager Enzo Maresca has vowed to get back to winning ways after last night’s 3-1 defeat to Leeds United at Elland Road.
The Foxes looked to be on course to extend their lead at the top of the Championship to 12 points when Wout Faes gave the visitors an early lead. They squandered several chances to double their advantage before Daniel Farke’s team made it a stunning comeback with goals from Connor Roberts, Archie Gray and Patrick Bamford.
It was a result that sent the Whites to within six points of their promotion rivals, who have now recorded back-to-back defeats after also losing to Middlesbrough last weekend. Although the gap is still considerable, the teams below them will sense a slim chance of a late resumption of the title fight.
Leicester will take a break from league antics this week when they host AFC Bournemouth in the FA Cup fifth round before hosting relegation-threatened Queens Park Rangers next Saturday. Maresca knows the importance of getting back to winning ways and has vowed to get his team back on track.
Speaking via Leicestershire Live, the 44-year-old dismissed comments that his players had started to cave under pressure:
“No, because I never thought I would finish this league with 10 or 15 more points. This is PlayStation.
“In reality, in the end, the difference between us and the rest will be very small, very small. There are 12 games left in the season and we are still first with six points. We will start again with the next game and start winning games.
“My message with the players since the beginning of the season is that winning games, winning games, winning games, what we are doing is not normal. I always told them that in the end the difference between us and the rest will be small. We are still first and we have a six-point lead, so we will try to win games to reach the final goal.”
Ipswich Town could also move six points closer to the top this afternoon when they host Birmingham City at Portman Road.
It’s always tough at Elland Road, but Leicester will see this as a missed opportunity to almost secure a place in the Premier League next season. However, they are still big favourites for the title and few would argue that they don’t deserve a place at the top of the standings.
Leeds are in great form and will probably beat the Foxes by the end. However, Ipswich could still have a big say and what looked like a formality before has now turned into an exciting finish to the Championship season.