Leicester are three points clear of Leeds at the top of the Sky Bet Championship after Jamie Vardy’s double earned his side a 2-2 draw at play-off chasing Hull.
Enzo Maresca’s men had to work hard against the Tigers and fell behind when Fabio Carvalho, who had earlier missed from the penalty spot, scored after 16 minutes.
But Leicester showed plenty of resolve and equalised through Vardy’s contentious penalty after 31 minutes.
Hull again nudged in front when Annas Zaroury let fly from the edge of the penalty box on 61 minutes, but Vardy scored a trademark second just two minutes later to secure the Foxes an important point.
Having ended a three-match losing run with victory at Sunderland on Tuesday, Leicester supporters might have expected their side to kick on at the MKM Stadium.
But they were surprisingly placid in the first half and should have conceded after just six minutes.
Regan Slater’s lung-busting run from deep caught the visitors unawares, with Stephy Mavididi nudging the Hull midfielder off his stride inside the penalty area.
Referee Samuel Barrott awarded a penalty, but Carvalho’s spot-kick was complacent, and Mats Hermansen impressively stood his ground.
Hull’s promising start was rewarded soon afterwards, though, as Carvalho atoned for his penalty miss with a fine goal.
Wout Faes conceded possession in an awful area, though Hamza Choudhury did the Leicester defender few favours with a rash pass.
The Liverpool loan signing had lots of work to do, but Carvalho was direct and brave before striking low under Hermansen, who perhaps went to ground too early.
Leicester needed a spark, which arrived after 20 minutes.
Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall’s strike from the edge of the box was not especially pleasing on the eye, but it squirmed from the reach of Ryan Allsop and on to the base of the left post.
Dewsbury-Hall’s attempt served notice of Leicester’s growing influence upon the game, which was finally balanced at the break after Vardy scored from the spot.
Jean Michael Seri was adjudged by Barrott to have fouled Abdul Fatawu, who went over rather too easily.
Vardy made no mistake with a neat penalty into the right corner.
Leicester improved thereafter, but they were far from at their best and again fell behind when Zaroury expertly powered home with his left foot from the edge of the box.
But with celebrating home fans still returning to their seats, Vardy scored again.
Fatawu’s smart pass from the right cut bisected Hull centre-backs Jacob Greaves and Alfie Jones to find an onrushing Vardy in his favourite position.
After having put Allsop on his backside with his first touch, the former England international artfully switched onto his right before smashing the ball into an unguarded net.
Neutrals anticipating a grandstand finale were left disappointed as both sides cancelled one another out during a tactical final half-hour in which Leicester finished strongly but did not do enough to win an absorbing game of football.
Vardy eyes 100-point season after Leicester's title win
Jamie Vardy has challenged his Leicester City team-mates to reach 100 points after sealing the Championship title with one game to spare.
The Foxes were promoted back to the Premier League without kicking a ball after Leeds United’s 4-0 defeat to QPR on Friday, but they needed to win on Monday to earn top spot.
Enzo Maresca’s side cruised to a 3-0 victory over Preston through Vardy’s brace and Kasey McAteer’s header, moving them to 97 points.
With one last milestone in their reach, Vardy wants to make sure they end an already successful season on a high.
Speaking to Sky Sports, he said: “We can celebrate it tonight, but now we have another target which is 100 points.
“We are over the moon. It has gone by quick but it's a graft. Not many days off, I'll tell you that.
“The lads - they've given it all. Thoroughly deserved, and I'm glad we've had 5000 to come and celebrate with us. It's not like it's 20 minutes up the road."
After a run of just three victories from nine games in the league between mid-February and April, Leicester have now won each of their last three outings.
Maresca has praised his players for their hard work in what he labelled a “tough season”.
“Fantastic, it's been a fantastic season. The Championship is a tough season and very intense, but I'm very happy," said Maresca.
"Now it's time to enjoy the work of the season to bring this special club back to the Premier League. We deserve it.
“The last two days they have been fantastic. We got promoted, but it was difficult in game preparation. But we used all of today to prepare for the game, the morning and afternoon. It was good.”
Barcelona 4-2 Valencia: Lewandowski hat-trick leads Barca to 4-2 win over 10-man Valencia
Barcelona striker Robert Lewandowski scored a second-half hat-trick to help his side fight back to claim a hard-fought 4-2 win over Valencia, who were leading 2-1 when they were reduced to 10 men just before the break.
Fermin Lopez's header from a Raphinha cross put Barca in front after 22 minutes, but Valencia's Hugo Duro struck in the 27th and Pepelu scored from the spot after a foul by Ronald Araujo 11 minutes later to give the visitors the lead.
But after Valencia keeper Giorgi Mamardashvili saw red for a handball outside the box before the break, Xavi's side dominated and Lewandowski scored with two headers from corners in the 49th and 82nd minutes before getting his treble with a free-kick in added time.
The win postponed Real Madrid's almost inevitable LaLiga title celebrations for a couple of weeks as Carlo Ancelotti's side sit atop the standings on 84 points.
Barcelona moved back to second in LaLiga on Monday with 73 points as they leapfrogged surprise package Girona, who are third with 71. Those two teams will meet in a Catalonia derby on Saturday.
Data debrief
Barcelona conceded two goals in the first half of a home game for the second time this season, after also doing so against Girona in LaLiga in December 2023.
However, Lewandowski's goals have been invaluable to La Blaugrana this season as he's earned 17 points with his 16 goals in the league.
Preston 0-3 Leicester City: Foxes seal Championship title in style
Leicester City cruised to a 3-0 win over Preston in the Championship on Monday to clinch the title with a game to spare.
Jamie Vardy was the star for the Foxes as he scored in both halves before Kasey McAteer made sure of the points with an unmarked header.
Abdul Fatawu had the chance to cap an already memorable night for the travelling fans but hit the post with his curler.
Preston slumped to a fourth consecutive defeat, while Leicester go into their final game against Blackburn Rovers with the knowledge that they will lift the trophy after the final whistle.
Data Debrief
Jamie Vardy has scored 18 goals this season (two in this game), more than any other Leicester player in the competition. He has also netted in his last three games, scoring four goals in total.
It was a dominant performance from the Foxes, who had 19 shots with 11 of those on target. At the other end, Preston only managed to test Jakub Stolarczyk once from their five attempts.
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