Leicester surged to the top of English football's second-tier Championship with a 3-0 win over struggling Millwall on Saturday.
Nigel Pearson's side started the day in third place, but they took full advantage of defeats for previous leaders Burnley, who lost 2-1 at Huddersfield, and second placed QPR, beaten 2-1 by Doncaster, to boost their challenge for promotion to the Premier League.
The Foxes were always in control against the lacklustre Lions at the King Power Stadium, with Lloyd Dyer taking just 12 minutes to open the scoring with a volleyed finish.
Leicester were well on their way to their 12th win of the season when Jamie Vardy ran more than half the length of the pitch from a cleared Millwall corner to slot home in the 52nd minute.
Vardy netted again three minutes later, capitalising on a wayward back header from Millwall defender Scott Malone.
That was more than enough to seal the win and Leicester are now three points clear at the top, while Millwall are just one place above the relegation zone.
Burnley surrendered pole position after suffering their first defeat in 13 matches.
Huddersfield's Burnley-born Oliver Norwood struck first with a 30-yard volley on 50 minutes.
James Vaughan increased the lead five minutes later from the penalty spot after Michael Duff was controversially penalised for handball.
And Danny Ings' 84th minute goal for Burnley came too late to spark a comeback.
Struggling Doncaster came from behind to inflict QPR's second defeat of the season with an 89th minute winner from Paul Quinn.
The victory was no more than Rovers deserved for a gritty display after falling behind to a Charlie Austin goal in the 43rd minute.
Theo Robinson equalised with a curling effort which looked more like an attempted cross in the 48th minute and Harry Redknapp's men were unable to raise their game in response.
Instead, it was Doncaster who were rewarded when Quinn headed his first goal for the club.
Goals from Ricardo Fuller and Dan Gosling helped fourth placed Blackpool defeat Sheffield Wednesday 2-0 at Bloomfield Road.
Fuller opened the scoring with a close-range finish after six minutes and Gosling's second-half strike sealed the points for Blackpool, who had boss Paul Ince back in the dug-out on the back of his five-match stadium ban.
The defeat left Wednesday second bottom and increased the pressure on under-fire manager Dave Jones.
Middlesbrough manager Aitor Karanka, a former Real Madrid defender and assistant to Jose Mourinho at the Bernabeu, got his first victory in English football as Bolton were beaten 1-0 at the Riverside Stadium.
Elsewhere, Yeovil enjoyed the surprise result of the day as the relegation-threatened minnows won 3-0 at promotion hopefuls Watford.
Barnsley slipped to the bottom of the table after a 3-0 home defeat against Birmingham, Ipswich won 1-0 at Charlton, Blackburn beat Leeds won 1-0 and Bournemouth drew 1-1 with Brighton.
Share
