Jamie Vardy and James Maddison scored as Leicester beat bottom-club Watford to climb back to second in the Premier League.
After a goalless first half, Vardy fired the hosts ahead from the penalty spot after Adam Masina had fouled Jonny Evans.
Maddison then made sure of the win in stoppage time, breaking away before slipping the ball past Ben Foster in the Watford goal.
The win moved Leicester back above Manchester City into second place, eight points behind leaders Liverpool who hammered Everton 5-2.
It was also Leicester’s seventh consecutive top-flight win, equalling a club record that was set in March 1963 and surpassing any run they were able to manage in their title-winning season in 2015-16.
Defeat, meanwhile, leaves managerless Watford bottom of the table and they are now seven points adrift of safety after Southampton beat Norwich to move out of the relegation zone.
The Hornets did not manage a shot on target at the King Power Stadium until the 90th minute when Domingos Quina hit a tame effort at Kasper Schmeichel as the visitors slumped to a ninth defeat in 15 games.
Brendan Rodgers’ reign at Leicester got off to a losing start with a 2-1 defeat at Watford back in March, but the two sides have gone in opposite directions since that day.
The Foxes have gone on to collect 52 points from 24 games compared to just 15 for the Hornets over the same period, while this win was Leicester’s 11th from their opening 15 games of the season – the first time they have won so many games at this stage of a league campaign.
This was not Leicester at their fluid, attacking best but even so they could still have won by an even bigger margin.
Harvey Barnes was twice denied by Foster either side of half-time, while Vardy was harshly denied a penalty in the first half when he was adjudged to have dived despite replays suggesting he had been fouled.
Leicester are putting together form they did not even manage in their title-winning campaign and show no signs of slowing down. Talk of a second Premier League title may still be premature but they certainly appear ready to pounce should Liverpool slip up during a busy December.
A change in the dugout but Watford’s woes continue
Watford dispensed with their second manager of the season at the weekend with the departure of Flores, and it was tasked to Under-23s boss Hayden Mullins to inspire the beleaguered Hornets to only a second win of the season.
The former defensive midfielder tried to stamp his mark on the team by switching from a back five to a back four and it certainly led to an improved defensive display from the Hornets as they looked solid in possession and kept a normally free-scoring Leicester at bay for almost an
hour.
But Watford’s familiar failings in attack were once again laid bare as they failed to create anything of note in the final third. Gerard Deulofeu was largely anonymous while Troy Deeney showed plenty of endeavour without being able to trouble a disciplined Leicester side.
The Hornets have now failed to score in eight of their 15 league games this season – the worst record in the Premier League – and it highlighted the size of the task facing an incoming manager.
