Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall shines as Leicester get the better of Crystal Palace

Trading places in the middle of the Premier League may not ultimately mean much if Leicester City can reach the semi-finals of the Europa Conference League or Crystal Palace overcome Chelsea to reach the FA Cup final but this was another reminder of Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall quietly but assuredly making his mark as a proven Premier League talent.

The playmaker made Ademola Lookman’s opener before swerving home his first Premier League goal as Leicester extended their sound home run to set them in good heart for Thursday’s win-or-bust second-leg tie away to PSV Eindhoven. But once again, the Leicester academy graduate, 23, impressed with his overall combination of stealth, touch and workrate in his breakthrough season at this level.

Palace, conceding for the first time in five games and losing for the first time in eight, made a game of it in the second half when Wilfried Zaha scored on the rebound from his retaken penalty but Leicester the win that enabled them to claim ninth place off their visitors.

With both teams’ sights set on upcoming cup adventures, it was perhaps not surprising that the first half was a slow-burning affair but Dewsbury-Hall made sure it caught fire with two crucial contributions in the six minutes before the break.

It was his astute pass, into the space inside and ahead of Lookman, that encouraged the on-loan winger to move away from Nathaniel Clyne on to the ball, take a touch inside Joachim Andersen, and fire in his sixth Premier League goal of the season. On the front foot, James Justin had won the ball off Zaha just inside the Palace half to invite Youri Tielemans to feed Dewsbury-Hall in the build-up.

The game had been about level, with Kasper Schmeichel saving well down to his left from