Abdul Fatawu scored a spectacular goal from inside his own half as Leicester cruised to a 3-1 home win against in-form Ipswich at the King Power Stadium to close the gap to the play-off places.
Fatawu’s remarkable lob from around 65-yards out doubled Leicester’s lead two minutes before half-time, after Bobby De Cordova-Reid lashed a powerful effort into the net from distance on eight minutes.
The Foxes sealed the points on 52 minutes when Jordan Ayew converted Ricardo Pereira’s cut-back before substitute Jens Cajuste scored for the visitors on 71 minutes following an error from Leicester goalkeeper Jakub Stolarczyk.
Victory for Leicester moves the Foxes to within three points of the play-off places while Ipswich remain in the top-six with a one-point cushion over the chasing pack.
The home side broke the deadlock after just eight minutes when De Cordova-Reid smashed a stunning effort into the bottom right corner from 25-yards out from Luke Thomas’s pass on the stretch.
Leicester were presented with a chance to double their lead on the half-hour mark when Jack Taylor chopped down Jordan James on the edge of the penalty area as the latter attempted to burst into the box.
From the resulting free-kick, Christian Walton pushed Fatawu’s free-kick to safety before Ipswich eventually cleared their lines.
Ipswich’s best chance of the first half fell to Jack Clarke who saw his driven effort from 12 yards out kept out by Stolarczyk after good work from Marcelino Nunez down the left.
However, Leicester doubled their lead in extraordinary fashion two minutes before half time when Fatawu nutmegged Taylor before sending an audacious lob over a backpedalling Walton from well inside his own half.
The Foxes struck again seven minutes into the second half as Leif Davis slipped on the ball in the box and Pereira picked up the pieces to tee up Ayew who applied the finish from eight-yards out.
Leicester almost added a fourth goal on the hour mark when Ayew found De Cordova-Reid in the box only for Ipswich captain Dara O’Shea to block the forward’s goal-bound effort with Walton stranded.
However, Ipswich reduced the deficit in bizarre fashion on 71 minutes when substitute Cajuste pounced on Stolarczyk’s stray pass to send a shot back through the goalkeeper’s legs.
The goal sparked the visitors into life as Ipswich spent the next few minutes camped in the Leicester half with Clarke unable to sort his feet out in the box which allowed Jannik Vestergaard to clear the home side’s lines.
Despite late pressure from the visitors, Leicester held firm to return to winning ways at home with Ipswich now winless in three games on the road.
