Leicester | The Foxes break Wednesday hearts

Leicester City 2 - 1 Sheffield Wednesday

Wout Faes struck late to give Leicester City victory on their return to the Championship, condemning Sheffield Wednesday to another setback in a season already overshadowed by crisis.

Author | James Lees

Stadium | King Power Stadium

A sunny day in Leicester

The Belgian defender rose to head home with three minutes remaining after Jannik Vestergaard had earlier cancelled out Nathaniel Chalobah’s first-half opener.

The result gave new Leicester manager Marti Cifuentes a winning start, while his opposite number Henrik Pedersen suffered defeat just 10 days into his tenure as Owls boss.

A closer look at what happened

With a senior squad of only 15 players available, Wednesday began with intent. Chalobah saw an early effort tipped on to the post at full stretch by Foxes goalkeeper Jakob Stolarczyk before finally finding success midway through the first half. Meeting Jan Valery’s cross, the midfielder’s shot took a heavy deflection off Oliver Skipp to beat Stolarczyk.

Leicester enjoyed the bulk of possession before the interval but struggled to convert it into chances. Vestergaard spurned one of the better opportunities when he headed wide from six yards.

View from behind the goal

The Danish centre-half made amends nine minutes after the restart, controlling Bilal El Khannouss’ low free-kick before lifting the ball over 20-year-old goalkeeper Pierce Charles.

As the heat at the King Power Stadium and a curtailed pre-season took their toll, Wednesday began to fade. Stephy Mavididi saw a powerful strike beaten away by Charles after weaving into the box, while Luke Thomas fired over from close range.

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Wednesday’s problems deepened when captain Barry Bannan was dismissed midway through the second half. Having been booked moments earlier, his sliding two-footed challenge on Harry Winks earned him a second yellow card.

Charles appeared to have secured a point with a superb diving save from Patson Daka’s header, but from the resulting corner El Khannouss picked out Faes, who nodded in from close range to end Wednesday’s resistance.

Wednesday's spirit wasn't quite enough on the day

Wednesday fans and players celebrate a memorable goal

Reports of a possible player strike over delayed wages came to nothing, but Owls supporters staged a protest against Thai owner Dejphon Chansiri by leaving the away end empty for the opening five minutes.

The disruption is the latest chapter in a turbulent summer for Wednesday, during which around half the senior squad departed. An English Football League registration embargo has prevented any signings, while former manager Danny Rohl resigned less than two weeks before the campaign began.

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The lack of depth was further exposed when Chalobah limped off shortly after scoring with a suspected hamstring injury, forcing Pedersen to hand a league debut to Sean Fusire, one of six academy players on the bench.

There was resilience in the visitors’ first-half display and their fans continued to make themselves heard (as you can see in the YouTube short video above) throughout. Yet over the course of a 46-game season, that spirit is unlikely to be enough without major change at the top.