Goals from Ahmed Musa, Shinji Okazaki and Christian Fuchs saw Leicester City record a 3-1 win over Crystal Palace at the King Power Stadium on Saturday as the reigning champions’ three-game winless streak in the Premier League came to an end.
Leicester were beaten 3-0 by Chelsea last week, having previously failed to beat Southampton (0-0) and Manchester United (4-1), but they returned to winning ways following a sublime strike from Musa in the closing stages of the first half and a clinical finish from Okazaki after the break.
Fuchs added gloss late on with a wonderful, long-range effort before Yohan Cabaye netted an 85th-minute consolation.
Claudio Ranieri opted to make two changes to the team that beat Copenhagen 1-0 in midweek in the Champions League, dropping Marc Albrighton and Jamie Vardy in favour of Musa and Okazaki and the Italian’s decision paid off.
Leicester made a positive start and could have gone ahead when Okazaki nearly made the most on an error from Palace goalkeeper Steve Mandanda after just 90 seconds, but the attacker’s chipped effort after the Frenchman’s poor attempted clearance went just wide of the target.
The visitors looked to hurt Leicester down the flanks as they tried to pick out striker Christian Benteke with high crosses and that tactic nearly paid off in the 12th minute. Martin Kelly sent in a superb cross from the left and Benteke beat his marker to the ball, only to see his header hit the crossbar.
Credit: Goal