Leicester's Relegation Worries Deepen After QPR Comeback Victory

QPR halted a dismal run of four consecutive Championship defeats by securing a 3-1 comeback victory over Leicester at the King Power Stadium, exacerbating the hosts' relegation woes. Jordan James initially put Leicester ahead with a spectacular long-range strike, but Harvey Vale equalized before the break. A Ben Nelson own goal and Ronnie Edwards' header then sealed QPR's second win in eight matches, alleviating their own relegation concerns. Leicester, who found themselves in the bottom three after Oxford's draw with Charlton, began with intent as Divine Mukasa headed Luke Thomas' cross just past the post within 30 seconds. Stephy Mavididi burst past Amadou Mbengue and drove into the box, curling a shot past the far post before City took the lead in the 14th minute. Two simple passes unlocked QPR's midfield, allowing James to run unchallenged and bend a 25-yard shot past Joe Walsh into the bottom-right corner. The Foxes nearly doubled their lead on the half-hour mark, but Thomas' pull-back across the six-yard box evaded Jordan Ayew, and Hamza Choudhury sliced wide. QPR started to exert pressure leading up to half-time, sending in dangerous crosses and corners without testing Leicester's goalkeeper. The visitors, who had gone four matches without scoring, leveled two minutes before the break with their first attempt on target. Vale latched onto Edwards' long ball, shrugged off Nelson, and tapped the ball past Jakub Stolarczyk before tapping into an empty net. Nelson's afternoon worsened five minutes into the second half as he stretched to intercept Vale's ball and diverted it past Stolarczyk at his near post. Leicester almost responded within minutes, but Walsh touched Abdul Fatawu's cross onto the crossbar. Stolarczyk was at full stretch to push away Paul Smyth's curling shot, but from the resulting corner, Edwards headed in Vale's inswinging set-piece to make it 3-1 in the 58th minute. Leicester boss Gary Rowett made an attacking triple change, bringing on Patson Daka, Bobby De Cordova-Reid, and Harry Winks. QPR's Walsh palmed away James' dipping long-range effort, while home penalty appeals were waved away by referee Dean Whitestone. Rangers saw out the match in relative comfort against increasingly desperate opponents, climbing to 16th in the table. Leicester's fifth home defeat from their past six, combined with wins for relegation rivals West Brom and Blackburn, leaves them second-bottom and two points from safety. Leicester's Gary Rowett stated, 'It was like Christmas Day, giving three gifts away and letting them choose whichever one they want, as we gave them three very soft goals.' QPR's Julien Stephan praised his players, saying, 'It was a strong reaction from the players today after recent results, showing great character, strong personality, and good quality, especially with the ball in the first half.'