At Ashton Gate, Bristol City defeated Leicester 1-0 in the Championship thanks to a fantastic goal by Anis Mehmeti, which further hampered the Foxes’ faltering push for automatic promotion.
In the 73rd minute, the winger ended a closely contested match with a lovely left-footed effort into the roof of the net after accepting a square pass from Mark Sykes on the edge of the box.
After just one victory in five Championship games, Leicester had come seeking to rekindle their campaign for promotion. However, they paid a price for wasted opportunities, as Jamie Vardy was twice denied by brilliant stops from Max O’Leary.
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In a goalless first half full of excellent attacking play, both teams had scoring opportunities. Mads Hermansen, the Foxes custodian, made early saves from Tommy Conway and Jason Knight in a strong Bristol City start.
On the fifteenth minute, Hermansen was put to the test even more when he dove to block a Conway shot and then reacted nimbly to block Scott Twine’s rebound.
After Conway was taken down by a powerful challenge from behind by Wout Faes in the 18th minute, referee Andrew Kitchen denied his urgent plea for a penalty.
However, when the visitors gained momentum, James Justin missed a low shot.
Around the half-hour mark, Leicester had two excellent opportunities: first, Faes headed wide from a free kick given by Harry Winks; second, Vardy shot just wide of the post after receiving a pass from Stephy Mavididi.
Although Mavididi was creating havoc on Leicester’s left flank, the Robins were still posing a threat, and Twine’s attempt to score in the 37th minute was stopped following Mehmeti’s deft dribble that created the space.
Before the halftime siren blew, Vardy shot across goal and wide of the far post, drawing cheers from both sets of supporters.
At the beginning of the second half, O’Leary stunned Leicester with a spectacular double save. He broke clean down the middle to stop Vardy’s shot, then he recovered his footing to deny Mavididi’s rebound attempt.
When Bristol City was detected attempting to play out from the back, Leicester appeared certain to take the lead on minute 62. With the goal at his mercy, Vardy cut out Zak Vyner’s ball, but O’Leary made an incredible fingertip stop.
Conversely, five minutes after Sykes took Twine’s place, he blasted into the sidenetting, but Leicester was ahead and Abdul Fatawu missed a close chance before Mehmeti’s incredible finish gave the Robins the lead.
With the home crowd going wild, Hermansen denied Sykes, and five minutes later, Kelechi Iheanacho, who had replaced Vardy in the 74th minute, had Leicester’s best chance to score but an offside call denied him.
The home team controlled the game well after that and had opportunities to score.
