Leeds United rival boss admits to losing control after Championship promotion race turning point

Leicester City manager Enzo Maresca admits he lost control of his emotions as Leicester City returned to the top of the Championship table on Saturday afternoon. The Foxes have led the way in the Championship for much of the season but recent form had seen them fall to third and out of the automatic promotion spots.

However, with Ipswich Town falling short at Norwich City and Leeds United's unbeaten run coming to an end at Coventry City, Leicester returned to the summit of the division by beating Birmingham City 2-1 at the King Power Stadium. Maresca's side had to dig deep against the Blues but a late effort from Stephy Mavididi proved to be the difference between the two side and that puts the Foxes a point clear at the top with the advantage of having a game in hand over their rivals.

That fact wasn't lost on Maresca, who could be seen celebrating with his players on the pitch after the full-time whistle.

“It has been very good," the Leicester boss said after the game. "But at this stage, it’s about controlling the balance. When you win you are up there and when you lose you are down there. In this moment, the most important thing for us is to manage the emotions. That is something I didn’t do at the end of the game!

"We were there attacking and most of the time when you struggle, you have to be worried for the transition. The guys controlled the transition fantastic. At the end the reward has been important. I think the team was playing good. But then we were playing even better with Dennis (Praet) and Yunus (Akgun). I’m happy for all of them. I’m happy for JJ (James Justin) because we were struggling a little bit with Miyoshi. JJ was inside, defending fantastic.”

Leicester have now won two games on the bounce in the Championship and they will attempt to build on that over the next six days with away games against Millwall and Plymouth Argyle to come before next weekend. It goes without saying that Leeds will be hoping for a slip up from the Foxes with the Whites' next two games coming at Elland Road against Sunderland and Blackburn Rovers.