Kelechi Iheanacho scored his 27th goal in just 46 domestic cup outings as Leicester City edged past Walsall to book their place in the FA Cup fifth round.
The striker’s deflected goal earned Leicester the victory after Youri Tielemans had earlier missed a penalty.
Iheanacho, who also scored the winner in the 1-0 third-round victory at Gillingham, now has 17 goals in 23 FA Cup appearances.
It was a slog for Leicester with Walsall edging the first half but Michael Flynn’s men never seriously tested Daniel Iversen.
The League Two side can still be proud of their efforts even if Flynn was unable to add another upset to the list.
His cup pedigree involves knocking Leicester out of the FA Cup in 2019 while his Newport side also beat Leeds and Watford, took Tottenham to a replay and Brighton and Newcastle to penalties.
A 4-1 FA Cup defeat to Manchester City even sparked a friendship with Pep Guardiola which Flynn cherishes and the upset expert was hunting another scalp.
His side – with only two league defeats since September – went at Leicester with relish and Iversen turned Tom Knowles’ early low effort away.
They were helped by the Foxes, with fit-again James Maddison starting for the first time since November, lacking the cohesion and concentration needed for this kind of cup tie.
Loose passes stunted any momentum and they were hassled by the lively Saddlers with Maddison’s booking for dissent underlining the visitors’ frustrations.
Walsall won the physical battles, committing to the challenges Leicester were clearly not used to in the top flight, and had every reason to be happy with their first-half display.
That said, the Foxes still found some brief openings with Harvey Barnes miscuing at the far post and Patson Daka firing over after a sharp turn but there was little to suggest they would have anything other than an uncomfortable afternoon in the shadow of the M6.
A rough and tumble cup tie had the 2021 winners scrambling, Tielemans unable to make a mark and Barnes cutting a lonely figure on the left with Leicester’s big names failing to step up before the break.
That there was no zip from the Foxes owed much to Walsall’s refusal to give them an inch but the Saddlers gifted the visitors a golden chance two minutes after the restart.
Joe Low’s poor touch allowed Daka to nip in ahead of Isaac Hutchinson, who sent him tumbling in the box, and although referee Gavin Ward initially gave a free-kick he eventually awarded the penalty.
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