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Timothy Castagne's goal was his first in the Premier League since April 2021Timothy Castagne and James Maddison both scored brilliant goals as Leicester beat Brentford to move into the top half of the Premier League.
Castagne, on his first appearance of 2022 following injury, hit a swerving effort into the top corner from outside the box from Harvey Barnes' cutback.
And Maddison curled a fantastic 25-yard free-kick into the other corner after he was fouled.
It capped a good week for Leicester, who clinched a Europa Conference League quarter-final spot on Thursday in Rennes.
Brentford pulled one back late on as Bryan Mbeumo found Yoane Wissa, who drove a shot in from 20 yards.
The Bees pushed for an unlikely equaliser and Kasper Schmeichel had to save a deflected shot from Premier League debutant Tariqe Fosu.
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Things are looking up for Leicester
Leicester have struggled this season with injuries to most of their first-choice defenders - but suddenly they are all returning.
Wesley Fofana made his first appearance of the season on Thursday but was left out here as the Foxes manage his return.
Castagne had been out since 28 December and he was replaced in the second half by Jonny Evans for his first game since 12 December.
It is too late to mount a challenge for the top seven in the Premier League but they have a realistic chance of winning the new Europa Conference League - in which they face PSV in the last eight.
They were deserved winners against Brentford thanks to those Castagne and Maddison goals from outside the box - although they were hanging on a bit at the end.
Ex-Foxes striker Paul Dickov told BBC Radio 5 Live: "Timothy Castagne's goal has to be up there for goal of the season. He looked a little bit rusty for the first 10 minutes but was excellent after that."
Maddison has scored 13 Premier League goals outside the box since his Leicester debut in 2018-19, more than anybody else.
Brendan Rodgers' side had other chances too - with Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall and Maddison forcing saves from David Raya and Kelechi Iheanacho chipping wide after a good run from the halfway line.
Too late for a comeback
Brentford - who were without Christian Eriksen through Covid - were hoping to win three consecutive top-flight matches for the first time in more than 75 years - but they left it too late to fight back.
Ivan Toney, who scored five goals in their two wins over Norwich and Burnley, was starved of service.
Pontus Jansson and Bryan Mbeumo both had headers saved by Schmeichel before Wissa's late breakthrough - but they could not find a leveller.
Thomas Frank's side are not yet safe from relegation, but sitting eight points above the drop zone a few points here and there should be enough.
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Leicester City
Squad number1Player nameSchmeichel
Squad number2Player nameJustin
Squad number18Player nameAmartey
Squad number4Player nameSöyüncü
Squad number27Player nameCastagne
Squad number8Player nameTielemans
Squad number24Player nameMendy
Squad number10Player nameMaddison
Squad number22Player nameDewsbury-Hall
Squad number7Player nameBarnes
Squad number14Player nameIheanacho
Squad number6Player nameEvans
Squad number29Player nameDaka
Squad number42Player nameSoumaré
Brentford
Squad number1Player nameRaya
Squad number20Player nameAjer
Squad number18Player nameJansson
Squad number5Player namePinnock
Squad number3Player nameHenry
Squad number19Player nameMbeumo
Squad number8Player nameJensen
Squad number6Player nameNørgaard
Squad number27Player nameJanelt
Squad number11Player nameWissa
Squad number17Player nameToney
Squad number24Player nameFosu-Henry
Squad number26Player nameBaptiste
Squad number30Player nameRoerslev
Line-ups
Leicester
Formation 4-2-3-1
- 1Schmeichel
- 2Justin
- 18Amartey
- 4Söyüncü
- 27CastagneSubstituted forEvansat 64'minutes
- 8Tielemans
- 24Mendy
- 10Maddison
- 22Dewsbury-HallBooked at 76minsSubstituted forSoumaréat 79'minutes
- 7Barnes
- 14IheanachoSubstituted forDakaat 86'minutes
Substitutes
- 6Evans
- 17Pérez
- 20Choudhury
- 21Ricardo Pereira
- 23Vestergaard
- 29Daka
- 33Thomas
- 35Jakupovic
- 42Soumaré
Brentford
Formation 4-5-1
- 1Raya
- 20AjerSubstituted forRoerslevat 66'minutes
- 18Jansson
- 5PinnockBooked at 83mins
- 3HenrySubstituted forFosu-Henryat 74'minutes
- 19Mbeumo
- 8Jensen
- 6NørgaardBooked at 90mins
- 27JaneltSubstituted forBaptisteat 56'minutes
- 11Wissa
- 17Toney
Substitutes
- 7Canós
- 15Onyeka
- 22M Jorgensen
- 24Fosu-Henry
- 26Baptiste
- 29Bech Sørensen
- 30Roerslev
- 40Fernández
- 43Young-Coombes
Referee:Darren England
Attendance:31,830
Live Text
Match ends, Leicester City 2, Brentford 1.
Second Half ends, Leicester City 2, Brentford 1.
Foul by James Maddison (Leicester City).
Tariqe Fosu-Henry (Brentford) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Attempt missed. Harvey Barnes (Leicester City) right footed shot from the centre of the box misses to the left. Assisted by James Maddison with a cross following a set piece situation.
Christian Nørgaard (Brentford) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
Youri Tielemans (Leicester City) wins a free kick on the right wing.
Foul by Christian Nørgaard (Brentford).
Attempt saved. Bryan Mbeumo (Brentford) left footed shot from outside the box is saved in the centre of the goal.
Attempt blocked. Ivan Toney (Brentford) left footed shot from outside the box is blocked. Assisted by Bryan Mbeumo.
Corner, Brentford. Conceded by Kasper Schmeichel.
Attempt saved. Tariqe Fosu-Henry (Brentford) right footed shot from the left side of the box is saved in the bottom left corner. Assisted by Shandon Baptiste.
Substitution, Leicester City. Patson Daka replaces Kelechi Iheanacho.
Goal! Leicester City 2, Brentford 1. Yoane Wissa (Brentford) right footed shot from outside the box to the bottom right corner. Assisted by Bryan Mbeumo.
Offside, Brentford. Bryan Mbeumo tries a through ball, but Ivan Toney is caught offside.
Attempt missed. Kelechi Iheanacho (Leicester City) header from the centre of the box misses to the right. Assisted by James Maddison with a cross following a set piece situation.
Ethan Pinnock (Brentford) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
James Maddison (Leicester City) wins a free kick on the right wing.
Foul by Ethan Pinnock (Brentford).
Substitution, Leicester City. Boubakary Soumaré replaces Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall.
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