Fatawu volleys late Leicester winner to beat Baggies
Abdul Fatawu scored a 94th-minute volley to snatch a much-needed Championship victory for Leicester City against a dominant West Bromwich Albion on a tense night of fan protests at the King Power Stadium.
A combination of freezing temperatures and the decision of some Foxes fans to boycott the match, in a public show of discontent at how owner Khun Aiyawatt ‘Top’ Srivaddhanaprabha has handled the club in recent years, meant there were swathes of empty seats at the 32,000-capacity ground.
Jordan Ayew gave the supporters who did show up an early reason to celebrate, linking up with Jordan James in the box to sweep home the opening goal from eight yards out.
Karlan Grant equalised for Albion before the break, racing into space on the counter-attack before picking out the bottom corner with a curling finish.
The visitors carved out numerous second-half chances, an Isaac Price effort deflected onto the post while Foxes keeper Jakub Stolarczyk made a string of fine saves after that before Fatawu slammed home the winner against the run of play in the last minute of stoppage time.
The laboured nature of the victory will do little to alleviate the pressure on Foxes manager Marti Cifuentes, while a 10th successive away defeat also leaves Baggies boss Ryan Mason facing significant scrutiny as they languish in 18th spot – six points and six places behind the Foxes.
While there were more of the now-familiar jeers aimed at Foxes players and under-fire boss Cifuentes during the game, it was the silence of the fans who chose to stay away for Leicester’s first home game of 2026 which sent the clearest message of the growing dissatisfaction at how the club is being run.
The absence of open dialogue with the club’s hierarchy after a year that produced just 13 wins from 47 matches across all competitions, and lack of reinvention after the Foxes suffered their second Premier League relegation in three years to slip into the bottom half of the Championship, are among a catalogue of supporters’ gripes.
All that is only complicated further by the club’s protracted legal battle over alleged profit and sustainability rule breaches the Premier League charged them with almost eight months ago.
Inconsistent results this season, and the latest run of just one win from four before the visit of the Baggies, had Cifuentes clinging to his job.
West Brom boss Mason is no different – after their 1-0 defeat by Swansea four days earlier, the 34-year-old admitted he is not immune to the risk of losing his job after a run of five defeats in seven matches.
That sequence became six defeats in eight on Monday night as West Brom were made to pay for a slow start, and Fatawu’s fabulous finish late on.
An excellent team move, which included fine one-touch play between Bobby De Cordova-Reid, Fatawu and James, had the Baggies chasing the game after 18 minutes when Ayew pounced for his fifth goal of the season.
A goal-line clearance from Ricardo Pereira denied Mikey Johnston a leveller on the half-hour mark, with the hosts also fortunate not to concede a penalty in the build-up to the chance when Hamza Choudhury appeared to shove Aune Heggebo.
The visitors only had to wait another four minutes for Grant to restore parity, while George Campbell almost nodded them ahead before the break with an effort that skipped across the face of goal.
Leicester’s Ben Nelson had a header flash just wide of the post immediately after the interval, but it was West Brom that dominated the chances over 90 minutes.
Price had a shot diverted onto the woodwork by the outstretched leg of Caleb Okoli, while Heggebo, Samuel Iling-Junior and Campbell were all denied by Stolarczyk in a man-of-the-match performance by the home keeper.
And Fatawu punished Mason’s men in devastating fashion as the game appeared to be heading for a draw, meeting a pinpoint cross from Stephy Mavididi to crash home the winner from 15 yards out.
—BBC
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