Faes fires late winner as Leicester sink Sheffield Wednesday amid protests

Martí Cifuentes has cleared his first hurdle as Leicester manager. A late header from his substitute Wout Faes completed a comeback victory but for much of a testing opening game against Henrik Pedersen’s Sheffield Wednesday, who took a first-half lead amid fan protests against the club’s ownership, that looked an unlikely outcome. There will be no illusions over how difficult an immediate return to the Premier League will be for Leicester.

“The Championship is a ruthless league,” said Cifuentes, who succeeded Ruud van Nistelrooy this summer. “It was a good lesson for everyone to understand that we cannot take anything for granted.”

For Wednesday, it was an achievement to even be here. Placed under a transfer embargo by the Football League because of late payments, they have only 15 senior first-teamers on the books. The players and staff were paid their outstanding July wages on Friday after solidarity payments from the Premier League came in.

Pedersen stepped in to be head coach after the departure of Danny Röhl at the end of July and the Dane’s tone at full-time here was largely positive. “Very proud feeling from the performance,” he said. “It’s been some tough, tough weeks. To keep the discipline, to keep the motivation … it was a fantastic picture for how you can do this.”

The sold-out away section was sparsely populated at kick-off, the vast majority of Wednesday supporters staying outside for the first five minutes in protest against the Thai owner, Dejphon Chansiri, who is yet to receive an offer for the club that matches his valuation. A banner reading “SWFC for sale – enough is enough” was left on the empty seats.

When Wednesday’s fans arrived, Nathaniel Chalobah almost gave them something to cheer about straight away, chesting the ball down at a corner and sending a bobbling shot across goal that came off the foot of a post. The away end, so quiet for those first five minutes, erupted midway through the first half when Chalobah met Yan Valery’s cut-back and had a low shot deflected into the roof of the net by Oliver Skipp. Chalobah and his teammates set off towards the far side of the stadium, where the noise – a mixture of joy and defiance, of pent-up frustration being let out – only grew as they approached. The celebrations were a picture.

View image in fullscreen Sheffield Wednesday fans stayed out of the stand en masse in the first five minutes in protest at their owner, Dejphon Chansiri. Photograph: Mike Egerton/PA

“Our fans are a big, big inspiration for our players,” Pedersen said. “The togetherness with the fans … of course they will go to the fans. They are so thankful for the support they are giving.” The discontent among the home supporters too was evident from the outset. Charged by the Premier League for breaches of profitability and sustainability rules in the 2023-24 campaign, Leicester are still waiting to find out if they will be handed a points deduction this season. Important members of the first team, including the goalkeeper Mads Hermansen, have been sold to raise funds.

But will there be more outgoings at a club that are yet to spend any money in the transfer market? “If I could predict the future, trust me, I would be much richer than what I am,” Cifuentes said. “I don’t know what’s going to happen. It’s clear it’s a work in progress.”

In terms of quality on the ball, Leicester were a cut above. Bilal El Khannouss, who impressed in the Premier League last season and who could still leave before the window shuts, was a constant threat. The introduction of Harry Winks at the break added control in midfield, where Wednesday were struggling to cope after Chalobah was withdrawn injured.

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El Khannouss created the equaliser with a low free-kick that made its way through to Jannik Vestergaard, who had time to take a couple of touches before firing past Pierce Charles in the Wednesday goal. The momentum was then on Leicester’s side, Stephy Mavididi almost giving them the lead when, after evading a couple of defenders, his shot was blocked at close quarters by Charles.

Wednesday’s task became even tougher when their 35-year-old captain, Barry Bannan, who has just signed a new contract after training with the team after his previous one expired in June, received a second yellow card for a rash follow‑through on Winks.

An inspired Charles then kept out Patson Daka’s header but, in the end, the visitors could hold out no longer. El Khannouss’s corner was butted in by Faes to complete a turnaround that denied Wednesday a draw after their supporters had made their own point in the first five minutes.

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