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Post by Avinalaff on Apr 18, 2015 18:38:38 GMT
Leicester City still fighting after Leonardo Ulloa helps down Swansea Leicester 2 - 0 SwanseaLeonardo Ulloa 15 Andy King 89 Leonardo Ulloa puts Leicester ahead against Swansea in the Premier League at the King Power Stadium Leicester City have lift-off at last and what a problem that could prove for other strugglers. Nigel Pearson’s side propelled themselves off the bottom of the Premier League for the first time in more than five months after Leonardo Ulloa and Andy King fired them to a third win in a row. Now they are in the relegation zone on goal difference only and the manner of their victory over Swansea City should make teams fret about being overtaken by them in the race to avoid the drop. Leicester had been sprawled on the Premier League’s floor since November but they approached this match with a sudden sense of upward mobility, having ended a long winless streak by triumphing in their two previous games. Hey presto, the King Power Stadium, which, in fairness, had never really sunk into despair, was awash with giddy optimism, especially as the visit of Swansea represented the first of five home matches to be staged by Leicester in their last seven games of the season. Pearson was not about to dampen the positivity with a cautious approach, even if he originally omitted his top scorer, Ulloa. The Argentinian had not found the net in his previous 12 matches but his intended replacement, David Nugent, suffered a calf injury during the warm-up so Ulloa was restored to the starting lineup alongside Andrej Kramaric at the top of a 3-5-2 formation that frequently looked like a 3-4-3 owing to Jamie Vardy’s incessant raids forward. Swansea kicked off but Vardy dispossessed them immediately, exemplifying the vibrancy that enabled Leicester to force the visitors backwards early on. “We lost it in the first 20 minutes, when we were outfought,” Monk rued later. Despite Leicester’s effervescence, Lukas Fabianski was untroubled until the 15th minute – when he had to fetch the ball from the net. Marcin Wasilewski hoisted a long free-kick into the box and Ulloa flicked it on to Wes Morgan, who held it up eight yards out before laying it back to Ulloa to slam into the net. The end of the striker’s drought heightened Leicester’s belief in survival and the celebrations around the ground were suitably jubilant. But Swansea soon showed that they were not willing to be run over. Monk’s side played their way back into contention with their familiar elegance, with Jonjo Shelvey a rising influence. Kasper Schmeichel twice had to save long shots from the midfielder in the first half. The goalkeeper would likely have been in even more difficulty in the 34th minute when Wayne Routledge ran on to a pass from Shelvey but Marc Albrighton made a superb tackle on the edge of his own area. The first half ended the way it had started with Swansea struggling to repel waves of Leicester attacks but Pearson had seen enough menace from the visitors to change to a 4-4-2 for the second period. Albrighton nearly made his manager more comfortable in the 48th minute but flashed a shot inches wide from eight yards. Shelvey gave Fabianski a reminder of Swansea’s threat moments later, but there was no let up from Leicester. Ulloa headed just over from a cross by Vardy, before Kramaric mis-hit from 15 yards. Leicester might have paid a heavy price for those misses if Schmeichel had not made a fabulous save to foil Nélson Oliveira in the 66th minute, diverting the striker’s close-range shot with an outstretched foot. “We really should have scored that goal and if we had, the crowd’s attitude would have changed drastically and their players would have felt that nervousness,” said Monk. Fabianski thwarted Riyad Mahrez after a counterattack led by Vardy, who was later denied a penalty after going down in the area under a tackle by Ashley Williams. They got their second three minutes from time, when Fabianski fumbled a free-kick by Esteban Cambiasso and King converted the rebound. “The danger now is that people get carried away,” Pearson warned. “We’re still in a difficult situation and we’ve got to keep our fate in our hands for as long as possible.” Guardian
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