Enzo Maresca praised his “improving” Leicester side after they edged out a narrow 1-0 victory at Huddersfield.
Summer signing Stephy Mavididi opened his account for the club midway through the second half for what proved to be the winning goal.
The £6.4million recruit from Montpellier unleashed a venomous strike from an acute angle which squeezed past Lee Nicholls at his near post.
Leicester enjoyed the majority of chances with Dennis Praet missing from a one-on-one position and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall lively throughout.
But it was Mavididi who was the match winner to secure new boss Maresca a third successive victory in all competitions this season since taking charge of the relegated Foxes.
“One of the things that we need this year is to not get frustrated and to be patient, because the chance will arrive,” Maresca said.
“We had at least five or six clear chances to score and, in the end, we completely deserved to win and have the three points.
“I said to the players that I need to know them and they need to know me.
“We started 40 days ago and I need to give them lots of information, but you can’t give it all in 40 days.
“Even defensively, we’ve already improved a lot against a team that are well-organised and created chances from throw-ins, corners and long balls.
“I’m very pleased with all the team and the effort that they did over the last week with three games and three wins.
“Especially today. It was exactly as I expected in terms of against a well-organised team that defended deep, so it was complicated.
“I’m pleased with Stephy, he scored and gave us three points. He’s working well and was very good against Coventry City last week.
“The reason why we brought him to the club was exactly for that today; good in one-v-ones who scores goals and give assists.”
It was a frustrating afternoon for hosts Huddersfield, who slipped to a third defeat in a row to start the campaign.
Michal Helik spurned a glorious opportunity in the first half to open the scoring when he blazed over from point-blank range.
And his defensive partner Matty Pearson missed an inviting chance to equalise as he headed straight at Jakub Stolarczyk.
“I enjoyed it,” said boss Neil Warnock. “The last thing I wrote on the board was ‘enjoy it’ and I think we did today.
“We covered every blade of grass and couldn’t give anything else; we’re just disappointed to lose to a goal like that because I couldn’t see them scoring.
“I thought their goalie made a couple of good saves in that first half and whenever we could, we tried to create things and we were on the front foot.
“I love having a go at them. They’ve got a good squad and two teams who can get promotion but thankfully we were only playing one!
“I think we’ve got to look after ourselves and we’ve shown today that we can go anywhere and have a really good game.
“Yes, the lads are disappointed but there’s nothing to be ashamed of today. There’s nothing but positives apart from the goal.
“It’s not easy to score goals, you need a bit of luck sometimes and they’ve had a bit today.
“Let’s hope it evens out a little bit. They say it does over a season but I’m not so sure, so we’ve got to make our own luck as well.”
Fiorentina 2-2 Napoli: Kvaratskhelia keeps visitors' slim European hopes alive
Dethroned Italian champions Napoli's hopes of playing European football next season are hanging by a thread after they played out a 2-2 draw at Fiorentina in Serie A on Friday.
Napoli took the lead in the eighth minute through defender Amir Rrahmani, who nodded home a corner by Matteo Politano.
Cristiano Biraghi levelled for Fiorentina in the 40th minute from a free-kick, before M'Bala Nzola put the hosts in front two minutes later when he fired a shot into the bottom corner of the net.
Napoli's Khvicha Kvaratskhelia responded with another stunning free-kick early in the second half to rescue a point for his team.
Eighth-placed Fiorentina, on 54 points and with a game in hand, are five points behind Lazio in seventh.
They can still earn a Europa League spot either by leapfrogging the Rome side or by winning the Europa Conference League final in which they face Greece's Olympiakos on May 29.
Ninth-placed Napoli, on 52 points, still have a slim chance of making the Europa Conference League playoffs.
Data Debrief
Fiorentina left-back Biraghi has now scored six goals from direct free-kicks since the start of 2021-22, which is behind only James Ward-Prowse (seven) - now of West Ham and formerly of Southampton - as the most across Europe's top five leagues in that period.
Kvaratskhelia also levelled via a direct free-kick, making this the first Serie A match in which both teams scored via that route since Fiorentina against Lazio in April 2018 (Jordan Veretout and Luis Alberto in that case).
Southampton 3-1 West Brom (3-1 agg): Saints set up play-off final with Leeds United
Southampton saw off West Brom 3-1 at St Mary's on Friday to set up a Championship play-off final showdown with Leeds United.
Leeds thumped Norwich City 4-0 at Elland Road 24 hours earlier to book their place at Wembley, where Southampton now await on May 26.
The first leg between the Saints and West Brom finished goalless - just like the other semi-final - but the home side's quality told in the end.
Russell Martin's side dominated the first-half possession, with David Brooks going closest to scoring with a shot that hit the outside of the post.
Southampton made the breakthrough via a powerful Will Smallbone finish four minutes into the second half after Gray Diangana lost possession.
Darnell Furlong had a shot helped over by Alex McCarthy, while David Brooks - who assisted the opener - had a strong penalty appeal rejected.
Southampton remained in control, though, and Adam Armstrong scored a second with a shot through Furlong's legs and past Alex Palmer.
Armstrong's second goal arrived from the penalty spot in the 86th minute after Tom Fellows fouled Ryan Manning in the box, rendering Cedric Kipre's late header a mere consolation.
Marc Skinner signs Manchester United Women contract extension
Marc Skinner has signed a one-year contract extension as Manchester United Women head coach with the option of a further 12 months.
The 41-year-old guided United to their first major silverware last weekend with victory over Tottenham in the Women's FA Cup final.
United are fifth in the Women's Super League with one game to go - a massive drop on last term's runners-up finish - but Skinner will stay on.
"It's an honour to extend my stay at Manchester United," Skinner, who was appointed in 2021, told United's official website after the news was confirmed on Friday.
"I've always felt at home here, with our excellent players, staff, and fans.
"Being able to secure the team's first major trophy at Wembley was a real career highlight for me and another sign of our continued growth, on and off the field."
United conclude their campaign on Saturday against Chelsea, who lead Manchester City on goal difference entering the final day.
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