Iheanacho winner pushes Leicester closer to Champions League

Apr 26, 2021, 10:06 pm

LEICESTER, England -- — Kelechi Iheanacho extended his career-best scoring form with a blistering winning goal as Leicester rallied to beat Crystal Palace 2-1 in the English Premier League and establish a seven-point cushion in the top four on Monday.

The Nigeria striker made it 14 goals in his last 14 games in all competitions when he brought down a long ball forward from Jonny Evans, cut inside on his favored left foot, and — with little back-lift — smashed a rising shot inside the near post in the 80th minute.

Iheanacho had earlier set up Timothy Castagne for Leicester's 50th-minute equalizer that canceled out Wilfried Zaha’s opening goal for Palace in the 12th minute. He has proven to be a revelation in the second half of the season after coming into the team because of injuries to teammates Harvey Barnes and James Maddison.

It’s a hot streak that could push Leicester over the line in the race for Champions League qualification, too.

The win cemented third place for Brendan Rodgers’ team, which is four points ahead of Chelsea in fourth and seven clear of West Ham in fifth. Liverpool is a point further behind, with all four teams having five games to play.

Leicester faded away at the end of last season to drop out of the top four on the final weekend. That doesn’t look like happening this time, with a second year in the Champions League — after 2016-17 — looking likely.

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