Zambia’s international, Patson Daka, inspired Leicester City to a rallying 4-3 victory over host Spartak Moscow after going two goals down in a UEFA Europa League thriller on Wednesday.
Daka scored all four goals to become the first Leicester player to score four goals in a single match since Derek Hines against Aston Villa in November 1958 while his Nigerian teammate, Kelechi Iheanacho, provided two assists.
Throughout their European campaign, Leicester have struggled badly and looked set to suffer a damaging loss in the snowy Russian capital as Spartak took a 2-0 lead.
Their Europa League chances were boosted by the four goals scored by the magnificent Zambian international.
After Spartak Moscow’s Alexander Sobolev scored the opening goal with a deflection, ex-Nigeria International Victor Moses set up Jordan Larsson – the son of ex-Swedish international forward Henrik – in the 44th minute.
74 seconds later, though, Leicester responded with Daka tapping in from Iheanacho’s chipped through-ball.
Daka, who scored a late goal in Saturday’s 4-2 win over Manchester United, levelled matters just three minutes into the second half with another neat finish. He was again set up by Iheanacho.
Leicester grabbed their lead in the 54th minute after Daka slipped the ball under Maksimenko following Youri Tielemans’ pass. This result seemed impossible before halftime.
Tielemans’ injury didn’t deter Leicester, and Daka seemed to seal the win with 12 minutes left, latching onto Maddison’s pass and finding the corner.
With four minutes left, Spartak managed to scare City with Sobolev’s second goal and the hosts’ third of the game, but City held on for a crucial victory.
After this win, Leicester is second in Group C on four points, two behind Legia Warsaw, which plays Italian side Napoli on Thursday.