Leicester City boss Brendan Rodgers has lauded his match-winning heroes Kelechi Iheanacho and Jonny Evans after they earned a brilliant three points for the Foxes against Crystal Palace on Monday night.
City came from behind to beat the Eagles and move seven points clear of fifth-placed West Ham in the race for the Champions League.
It was Iheanacho who continued in his scoring form again to smash home the winner 10 minutes from time, but he may not have had the chance to clinch the victory had Evans not slid in to deny Christian Benteke a certain goal earlier in the second half.
“He’s a top defender with his reading of the game, he’s a colossal player for us,” Rodgers said of Evans. “He knows how we want to play the game, but also he’s a defender who wants to defend.
“His reading of the situation was excellent. He has an in-built brain for football, and that tackle showed what a top-class defender he is.
“He played the ball for the second goal as well into an area we wanted to find.
“He’s a sensational player and that tackle summed it up.”
Iheanacho struck the winner 10 minutes from time, his 17th of an incredible season.
He is on a hot streak nobody saw coming, especially when he missed a penalty in a poor performance in the reverse fixture against Palace just after Christmas.
“It’s a great comparison, because he missed a penalty and his confidence wasn’t high,” Rodgers said, reflecting on Iheanacho’s improvement. “A few months on, he’s a different player.
The win handed Leicester City 62 points; boosting their top-four hopes and giving them breathing space from a tight-knit chasing pack of Chelsea (58) West Ham (55) and Liverpool (54) with five matches left on the card.
