Leicester City saw off Leeds United with a vital 2-0 win at the King Power Stadium.
It was by no means a straightforward victory for under-pressure Foxes boss Brendan Rodgers and his players, but they were able to secure the win.
Leeds gifted the hosts the opener, when Robin Koch turned the ball into his own net from Dennis Praet's cross, after the ball was given away cheaply in midfield.
Harvey Barnes was afforded time and space to coolly double the lead, but the win did not come without pressure from The Whites.
Story of the match
The hosts were unable to call on the services of James Maddison after he picked up a one match suspension for picking up too many yellow cards.
Rodgers made two changes in the absence of his star man, as Jamie Vardy returned to the side over Patson Daka.
Jesse Marsch made four changes to his last starting lineup, with two defensive alterations and three switches in attacking areas.
The visitors had a string of corners early on in an early test for The Foxes' defence, which they passed.
Wout Faes was caught in possession and brought down Luis Sinisterra, but was not booked for the foul.
The resulting free kick was hit long by Brenden Aaronson.
It was a cagey start to the match, as both sides looked to break down their opposition.
The match was undoubtedly important for both sides, as The Whites sat just above the drop on goal difference, and Leicester were at the foot of the table at kick off.
Vardy looked to tee up Barnes, but he could not quite bring the ball under control.
Barnes would have been in on goal had he been able to control it.
At the other end, Patrick Bamford laid the ball off to Rasmus Kristensen, who could not pick out Sinisterra at the back post for Leeds.
Vardy looked to break away but was caught and his eventual cross was easily intercepted.
It was Leicester who had a vital lead in fortunate circumstances in the 16th minute.
Marc Roca was caught in possession, and Vardy played the ball to Dennis Praet, who flashed the ball across goal.
Robin Koch tried to get on the end of the cross to prevent Barnes tapping in at the back post, instead putting the ball into his own net past a stranded Illan Meslier
From a Leeds perspective, it was a very poor goal to concede.
A good response from Leeds
Youri Tielemans had to be alert to make a strong challenge to deny Bamford from racing away for the visitors.
Sinisterra turned well to allow Marsch's side the chance to put the ball back into the danger area after a corner was fired long, but it was cut out.
Diego Llorente nearly scored the second own goal of the match when a ball was floated to the back post, which Timothy Castagne headed goalward.
The Spaniard could only shank his clearance away, narrowly avoiding another own goal.
Sinisterra was desperately unlucky not to level the tie with a wonderful curling effort seconds later.
He drove at the heart of The Foxes' defence, and his shot was beyond Danny Ward, but smashed against the frame of the goal.
On the other side of the half an hour mark the Colombian had another opportunity, trying to place the ball in and firing wide when he had Aaronson in support.
Despite wasting his last chance, there was no doubt that Sinisterra had been the bright spark for Leeds early on.
The visitors continued to pile the pressure on Leicester in search of an equaliser, when Ward made a top save from a shot inside the box, tipping the ball over the bar.
A vital second for The Foxes
They were made to pay for their missed chances, when Barnes slotted home to double Leicester's lead in the 35th minute.
Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall found the Englishman in acres of space in the box, and he duly placed the ball past Meslier to give the hosts a vital second goal having come under pressure beforehand.
Aaronson's effort from the edge of the box went high and wide as the visitors looked to pull a goal back before the interval.
Junior Firpo brought down Barnes in a dangerous area, as Leicester looked to get the ball into the box.
Tielemans took the free kick, which did not seem threatening but could only be punched away by Meslier.
Koch was lucky not to see red when he brought Barnes down with no intent to play the ball as he raced past him down the wing.
On the balance of play, 2-0 seemed to favour the hosts at the break, but whilst Rodgers could be pleased that his side had taken their chances, Leeds had been lacklustre defensively.
The score at half time left The Whites staring at the face of their game without a win.
Marsch made two changes at the break, introducing Liam Cooper and Rodrigo.
There was a mad scramble in the box to start the second half, as Crysencio Summerville played a driven ball into the box, which caught out Daniel Amartey.
The Ghanaian seemed to play a back pass to Ward, which the goalkeeper then picked up, leading to appeals from the Leeds players which were waved away by the referee.
Boubakary Soumare made a cynical foul to bring down Sinisterra as he looked to break.
There was another scramble in the box which involved a Llorente bicycle kick and a Cooper shot, but The Foxes were just about able to clear.
Bamford was on the end of a deep cross for Leeds, but the striker could not direct the ball goalward.
Faes was fortunate that James Justin was able to clear the ball for him, after missing a cross completely which flashed across the face of goal.
Patson Daka came off the bench to set up Praet, who should have added a third but fired over.
Faes made an important tackle to prevent Rodrigo from finishing off a counter attack.
The former Valencia man looked to curl a shot in from range, but it went well wide.
Ayoze Perez looked to rub salt into the wounds when he shaped to shoot on the edge of the area, but it was blocked.
Mateusz Klich attempted an audacious chip in attempt to score a consolation late on, but it was saved by Ward.
Full time saw Leicester secure an important 2-0 win at the King Power Stadium.
They had survived periods of pressure and capitalised on their opportunities to score, perhaps the perfect springboard for The Foxes to get their season back on track.
It was a disappointing day for Marsch's men, who were wasteful in attack and dismal defensively.
Player of the match
Despite the recent reputation around their defending this season, The Foxes earned their third consecutive home clean sheet against Leeds on Thursday night.
A key man in ensuring they could extend their run without conceding at home was Wout Faes.
The £15m signing from Reims was on hand to make some crucial tackles and interceptions on the night.
He will hope to continue to produce good defensive showings to help to push Leicester up the table after a disappointing start to the campaign.