With a 2-1 victory over Watford at Vicarage Road, Leicester preserved their 11-point lead atop the Sky Bet Championship thanks to a goal from Patson Daka.

However, Enzo Maresca’s team was appreciative of the margin that Ricardo Pereira’s goal in the second half offered after Emmanuel Dennis had the opportunity to ignite thoughts of a Hornets comeback thanks to a Harry Winks error.

After returning from Zambia’s Africa Cup of Nations duty, Daka scored his third goal in three games when he converted a penalty in the tenth minute.

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And after Winks misplayed a ball, Dennis scored his first goal since rejoining Watford on loan from Nottingham Forest last month, and the Foxes held firm to preserve their lead.

Watford had not scored in any of their previous three games and had not scored in five open play contests going into this one.

However, after just 75 seconds of play, striker Vakoun Bayo pulled up, forcing them to reconsider their attacking strategy.

Maresca’s team took the initiative, playing with the assurance one would expect from a team leading by such a wide margin.

And after Dennis Praet outwitted Giorgi Chakvetadze to win a penalty in the tenth minute, it only took them ten minutes to take the lead.

After breaking into the box to receive a pass, the Foxes midfielder cut inside Chakvetadze, who extended his leg behind him.

Daka beat custodian Ben Hamer with a strong low strike as soon as referee Oliver Langford pointed to the spot.

At that moment, Watford had not had much of an impact on the game and could have gone down two if Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, who had been set up by Daka, hadn’t missed the crossbar.

As the half went on, Valerien Ismael’s team did manage to gain momentum and, in the 33rd minute, Wesley Hoedt’s long-range strike eventually tested Leicester goalie Mads Hermansen.

The home team did not pose much of a danger in the first half, although they had begun to gather steam before the interval.

At the beginning of the second half, Leicester took the lead once more.

Ten minutes into the second half, Pereira’s goal following a brilliant counterattack gave Maresca’s team a two-goal advantage.

Hermansen initiated the move, and after Pereira received the ball, the Foxes captain was free to run from deep and exchange passes with Abdul Fatawu before finishing beyond Hamer.

When Leicester defender Wout Faes diverted Ken Sema’s left-wing cross dangerously near to his own goal, Watford almost immediately reacted.

However, it was an even more egregious mistake that allowed them to score in the 63rd minute, igniting hopes for a comeback at home.

Hermansen passed the ball to Winks, who erred badly on his first attempt at passing and only managed to locate Dennis, who was unmarked by the penalty spot, to shoot into an empty net.

Despite their best efforts, Watford was unable to stop Leicester from winning the league for the third time in a row.