Patson Daka set Leicester on course for a 2-1 win against Watford at Vicarage Road that maintained their 11-point lead at the top of the Sky Bet Championship.
But Enzo Maresca’s side were grateful for the cushion provided by Ricardo Pereira’s second-half strike after a Harry Winks mistake gifted Emmanuel Dennis the chance to fire up hopes of a Hornets comeback.
Daka converted a 10th-minute penalty for his third goal in three games since returning from Africa Cup of Nations duty with Zambia.
And the Foxes stood firm to protect their lead after Winks’ misplaced pass allowed Dennis to score his first goal since returning to Watford on loan from Nottingham Forest last month.
Watford came into the game having failed to score in their three previous outings – and without a goal from open play in five games.
But they were soon forced to rethink their forward plans when striker Vakoun Bayo pulled up just 75 seconds into the game.
Maresca’s side assumed control, displaying the confidence expected from a side with such a commanding lead at the top of the table.
And it took them just 10 minutes to make the break after Dennis Praet outwitted Giorgi Chakvetadze to win a 10th-minute penalty.
The Foxes midfielder broke into the box to collect a pass before cutting inside Chakvetadze who stuck out a trailing leg.
Referee Oliver Langford immediately pointed to the spot and Daka beat goalkeeper Ben Hamer with a powerful low shot.
Watford had made little impression on the game at that point and might have found themselves two down had Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall not shot over the bar after being set up by Daka.
Valerien Ismael’s side did manage to grow into the game as the half progressed and finally managed to test Leicester keeper Mads Hermansen when Wesley Hoedt shot from long range in the 33rd minute.
That proved to be a rare moment of threat from the home side in the first half but they had shown signs of developing some momentum before the break.
Leicester once again took the initiative at the start of the second half.
And Maresca’s men doubled their lead 10 minutes after the restart when Pereira slotted home after a sweeping counter-attack.
The move was started by Hermansen and, when the ball was rolled out to Pereira, the Foxes skipper was allowed to run from deep before exchanging passes with Abdul Fatawu and placing his finish beyond Hamer.
Watford almost responded immediately when Ken Sema’s left-wing cross was deflected dangerously close to his own goal by Leicester defender Wout Faes.
But it was an even more glaring error that gifted them the 63rd-minute strike that fired up hopes of a home comeback.
Hermansen played the ball out to Winks, who completely miscued a first-time pass and succeeded only in finding Dennis, who was standing unmarked by the penalty spot and finished into an empty net.
Watford pressed for an equaliser but were unable to prevent Leicester from seeing out a third successive league win.
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.”
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.
Hull City 3-3 Ipswich Town: Tigers fight back three times to deny Tractor Boys
Ipswich Town missed the chance to move into an automatic promotion spot as play-off-chasing Hull City came from behind three times in a thrilling 3-3 Championship draw at The MKM Stadium.
Ipswich knew a victory would take them second after Leeds United were surprisingly beaten 4-0 by Queens Park Rangers on Friday, and they led on three separate occasions, George Hirst opening the scoring before Omari Hutchinson produced two brilliant strikes from the edge of the area.
However, buoyed by slip-ups from rivals Norwich City and West Brom earlier on Saturday, Hull dug deep to fight back on each occasion, Ozan Tufan and Liam Delap scoring their first two equalisers.
With Liam Rosenior's men 3-2 down with just four minutes to play, substitute Noah Ohio blasted his shot in off the crossbar to punish an error from Ipswich goalkeeper Vaclav Hladky.
The result keeps Ipswich behind second-placed Leeds on goal difference, though the Tractor Boys have a game in hand to come at Coventry City on Tuesday.
Hull, meanwhile, are two points adrift of the top six, with Norwich's goal difference advantage meaning their top-six spot is all but assured. The Tigers will, however, leapfrog West Brom if they beat Plymouth Argyle on the final day and Albion lose to Preston North End.
Data Debrief: Hutchinson's best not enough
Hutchinson was a man who deserved to be on the winning side on Saturday, giving Ryan Allsop no chance with two near-identical left-footed strikes from the right corner of the penalty area.
His goals came from an expected goals (xG) total of just 0.6, and he led all players on the pitch for shots (eight) and passes in the final third (21), also laying on three chances for his team-mates.
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