Key events
GOAL! Birmingham 2-3 Leicester (James 74′)
Jordan James gets his second of the game, and from nowhere, Birmingham are back in it!
72 mins: Rooney decides to ring the changes. Off go Bielik, Dembele and Stansfield; on come Oliver Burke, Japan international Koji Miyoshi and teenage winger Romelle Donovan.
70 mins: Dewsbury-Hall crosses for Daka, who doesn’t get hold of his shot. Here comes Choudhury for Mavididi, who gets cheered by the away fans and booed by the home fans; I guess that’s when you know you’ve had a good game.
68 mins: Fatawu tries again to cut inside and find the far corner, but his shot is wild and flies into the away end.
67 mins: Hamza Choudhury is coming on; it looks like he’ll replace Mavididi, who has scored twice but is also on a booking.
65 mins: Ricardo finds Dewsbury-Hall in midfield, untroubled, with options left and right. He opts to switch play wide to Mavididi, who gets to the byline but runs out of space.
64 mins: Buchanan gets his own back with a trip on Fatawu, who was threatening to skip away downfield once again.
62 mins: Bacuna asks the crowd to turn up the volume as Birmingham try to find a way back into the game. Leicester are holding them comfortably at arm’s length at the minute, though.
60 mins: Lee Buchanan is caught on his knee by a high boot from Fatawu, but the referee doesn’t spot it – it surely would have been a booking if he had.
59 mins: The corner is arrowed in towards Marc Roberts, but Leicester get it clear. Rooney then livens up the home crowd with some textbook close control when the ball flies out of play.
58 mins: The ball in rebounds off Stansfield, and Fatawu is on hand to hoof it downfield. Birmingham come again, and Stansfield wins another corner with some tenacious work down by the touchline.
57 mins: Jay Stansfield, who hasn’t been involved much, gets in front of Dewsbury-Hall but can’t connect with his header. Birmingham get a corner …
56 mins: Dembele prods the ball beyond Justin, who brings him down and is perhaps lucky to avoid a booking. A rare chance for Birmingham to offer a threat from the free kick …
54 mins: Leicester’s key attacking move – Winks or Ndidi passing to Dewsbury-Hall, who moves it on to either winger – has worked time and time again. On this occasion, Mavididi is found in a central area and tries unsuccessfully to catch Ruddy out with a backheel.
52 mins: “Sacked in the morning” is the gleeful chant from the away fans. We’re not at that stage yet, but it’s looking like two wins from 11 for Wayne Rooney now.
51 mins: From yet another quick break, Fatawu almost makes it four, bending the ball just wide of the far post after another deep run from Dewsbury-Hall.
GOAL! Birmingham 1-3 Leicester (Mavididi 49′)
Well, that didn’t work. As soon as the hosts step forward, Leicester exploit the space and Mavididi gets one-on-one with Aiwu again. He cuts inside and shoots, and the defender’s boot only serves to deflect the ball over Ruddy and in!
48 mins: Birmingham are definitely sitting a little deeper in this second half, rather than go too gung-ho with the game in the balance.
Peep!
We’re back for the second half, and Leicester are back on the attack – but Dewsbury-Hall is flagged narrowly offside.
Neil Warnock here, failing to be disciplined.
“Sorry I forgot to close it” 😅
“Anymore angry than that you’ll frighten everybody” 🤣Enjoy this blooper reel by Neil Warnock, but enjoy it by being disciplined 😂 pic.twitter.com/3026fY75gS
— Sky Sports Football (@SkyFootball) December 18, 2023
Half time: Birmingham 1-2 Leicester
The leaders have scored twice with devastating counterattacks, either side of Jordan James’ well-taken equaliser. Since they went back in front, Leicester have been dominant – but there’s still only a goal in it.
48 mins: Juninho Bacuna gets a rare pocket of space and shapes to shoot – but Wout Faes is in the way, and blocks his effort on goal.
47 mins: There’s still time for Leicester to race downfield twice but fail to get the final ball right …
46 mins: We have played one of three added minutes, and I think Birmingham want this half to be over.
45 mins: But KDH is on hand to quickly win the ball back and find Mavididi, who flicks the ball past Aiwu and then goes over after minimal contact. Having already been booked, he risked the silliest sending-off of the season there.
43 mins: Dewsbury-Hall sets up Daka, who opts to pass backwards instead of hold the ball up …
42 mins: Dembele goes in late on Justin, and Leicester get a free kick, from which they work upfield again …
41 mins: More trickery from Mavididi, sending Aiwu this way and that before slicing his shot wide.
40 mins: Again, Birmingham look short at the back –but Sanderson gets a vital touch to stop Fatawu playing Daka in on goal.
39 mins: Leicester now have a grip on this game – it feels like a Cup tie that’s close to slipping away from the underdogs. Dewsbury-Hall crosses for Daka, who might have done better with his first-time shot.
37 mins: Wout Faes with a lovely little defensive cameo, ball-juggling his way past three attackers before going down theatrically to get the free kick. That was David Luiz-esque (in a good way).
36 mins: Having been abandoned by his marker, Mavididi tries to volley a cross back into the danger area, but it doesn’t come off.
35 mins: Dembele tries to get in behind the Leicester defence, but he’s a good yard offside.
33 mins: Maresca is out of his seat, barking at his players after an attacking move breaks down. To me, he looks like an AI-created combination of Mikel Arteta and Pep Guardiola.
31 mins: Mavididi is causing plenty of problems for the home defence; he gets upended, but is quickly up and running into the box, his deflected cross bouncing to safety.