West Bromwich Albion vs Leicester City. Premier League.
The HawthornsAttendance23,558.
Saturday 10 March 2018 18:05, UK
Riyad Mahrez starred as Leicester condemned West Brom to their sixth successive Premier League loss with a 4-1 win at The Hawthorns on Saturday.
Salomon Rondon had given the Baggies the lead inside eight minutes as nipped in front of Wes Morgan to steer the ball into the net.
However, the hosts' lead lasted just 13 minutes as Jamie Vardy was superbly picked out by Mahrez from inside his own half before the England forward volleyed Leicester level from the 18-yard box.
Substitute Kelechi Iheanacho was on the field for only three minutes before he picked out Mahrez (62), who lifted the ball over Ben Foster before the former Manchester City striker rounded off the victory with a pinpoint header.
There was just enough time left for Vicente Iborra to rub salt into the wounds of the home fans as he rose above Craig Dawson to head in Leicester's fourth in added time and seal a convincing win.
The loss leaves West Brom rooted to the foot of the table - eight points off 17th-placed Southampton with just eight matches left in the league - while the Foxes remain in eighth.
After a tentative opening from Alan Pardew's side, Oliver Burke got behind Ben Chilwell on the right before delivering a brilliant ball into the box for Rondon to toe-poke past Kasper Schmeichel.
With their tails up, Grzegorz Krychowiak's rasping shot from the edge of the box took a deflection off Chilwell and Schmeichel was forced to pull off a brilliant save to tip the ball onto the crossbar.
Just four minutes later and the visitors equalised. Mahrez sprayed a pass over the top from inside his own half to Vardy, who allowed the ball to drop over his shoulder before volleying low into the right corner.
With half-time approaching, sloppy defending from the home side allowed Vardy through on goal but uncharacteristically the 31-year-old wanted too much time on the ball and Dawson got back to clear.
With Mahrez's dominance on the match growing after the break, Iheanacho's pass was brilliantly brought down by the Algerian, before he coolly chipped the ball over Foster.
West Brom were struggling to get a footing in the second-half and Krychowiak was forced to shoot from range but failed to test Schmeichel.
Provider then turned goalscorer as Chilwell's pinpoint cross was met by Iheanacho, who made no mistake from six yards out.
As the home fans flooded out of The Hawthorns, Leicester continued to attack and a tiring Dawson was unable to match the athletic leap of Iborra, who netted just his second goal for Leicester.
West Brom have dropped a league-high 21 points from winning positions in the Premier League this season, while gaining just one point from behind in return.
Riyad Mahrez has now been involved in 18 Premier League goals this season (10 goals, eight assists) - twice as many as last season (9 - six goals, three assists).
Jamie Vardy (15 goal involvements) and Riyad Mahrez (18 goal involvements) are the only players to have been involved in at least 14 goals this season and play for clubs outside the 'big six'.
Salomon Rondon's goal was his 22nd Premier League strike - since the start of 2015-16, he's scored 12 more goals for West Bromwich Albion than any other player.
Leicester's playmaker was at the heart of their attacking play, pulling the strings from deep in midfield as helped the Foxes control the match with pinpoint crosses and defence-splitting passes.
Mahrez walked off to a standing ovation from the travelling Leicester fans.
West Brom travel to Bournemouth in the Premier League next Saturday, while Leicester host Chelsea in their FA Cup quarter-final clash on Sunday.
