Football Apr 23, 2026

Leicester 0-1 Swansea: Zan Vipotnik pushes Foxes deeper into relegation trouble

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By Admin
Sports Journalist
Leicester 0-1 Swansea: Zan Vipotnik pushes Foxes deeper into relegation trouble

Zan Vipotnik's 21st league goal of the season inspired Swansea to a 1-0 Championship win against struggling Leicester at the King Power Stadium as the Foxes saw their relegation fears worsen.

The game's only goal came after 53 minutes as Vipotnik blasted a shot into the net via the crossbar from close range after Eom Ji-Sung sprinted from his own box to the edge of the Leicester penalty area in a blistering counter attack.

The game burst into life just before the half-hour mark when Harry Winks found Patson Daka in the box and the striker flicked the ball into the path of Ricardo Pereira, who lashed a shot against the post from the right-hand side of the penalty area.

Swans goalkeeper Lawrence Vigouroux then pushed Daka's looping header to safety after the striker flicked on Divine Mukasa's corner from the right at the near post.

Daka continued to cause Swansea problems when he controlled Mukasa's lofted ball down the left channel and fired a powerful volley towards goal, which Vigouroux parried into the ground.

The home side spurned another chance shortly before the break when Abdul Fatawu pounced on Sam Parker's stray ball only to curl a shot inches past the post from 20 yards out.

Leicester came agonisingly close to scoring the opening goal on the stroke of half-time when Jamaal Lascelles guided Mukasa's corner into the six-yard box and Oliver Skipp saw his shot cleared off the line by Vipotnik.

The Swans improved after the break as Vipotnik cut the ball back from the right into the path of Melker Widell, who could only fire over the crossbar when left unmarked, 15 yards from goal.

However, the visitors broke the deadlock when Eom intercepted Mukasa's short free-kick inside his own box and sprinted the length of the pitch before releasing Vipotnik, who produced a clinical finish from eight yards out via the underside of the crossbar.

The goal sparked a chorus of boos from the home fans as the second-tier top scorer netter his 21st goal of the campaign to move further clear in the race for the golden boot.

Leicester struggled to recover from the setback as chants of "sack the board" rang around the ground in the closing minutes before loud boos greeted the home side's performance at full-time.

The visitors slipped to second bottom as a result, find themselves four points from safety with four games left and are now winless in their last five matches.

Victory for Swansea brought an end to the Welsh side's four-game winless run, with the Swans only below the top half of the table on goal difference.

Leicester's Gary Rowett:

"We started OK and created some good moments without really getting into top gear and hurting the opposition as much as we'd like.

"We just give a stupid goal away. I don't know how many times I've said it. It's an absolutely ridiculous goal to give away, maybe we have to just go back to basics.

"To give a goal away of that sort is not only hugely frustrating, but when you've done it so many times it's heartbreaking to see because it puts everything you've worked on out of the window.

"We didn't react well enough after that. Our reaction after the goal was not what you would expect when you're fighting for your lives down the bottom end of the table.

"We've struggled over a long period this season to do the basics well. The next game is going to define a lot. We've got to show more fight and show a little bit more desperation."

Swansea's Vitor Matos:

"It's more important to think about the performance and to keep improving and keep growing, the mentality was there and the consistency and maturity.

"I'm really happy with the character of the team. The hunger is there and the desire is there. When you have that, independent of the result, that's the most important thing to build from.

"He (Vipotnik) is an important player, he's more than scoring goals, he helps the team in a lot of departments. He understands the importance that he has in terms of the collective.

"We're just happy that he keeps scoring, we care a lot about him, we renewed his contract, we take care of him and his family and show how much we can help him to develop. He understands how important he is for the team.

"The (transfer) market is always interesting, you never know what's going to happen in football but he knows how much we want him and he knows he has a place in everyone's hearts."

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