Danny Graham's late winner at Vicarage Road saved Watford's blushes after Leicester's second-half fight-back.
Malky Mackay's side looked to be cruising after John Eustace's volley and Will Buckley's simple second.
Yet they crumbled after the break as Paul Gallagher hauled them level with a curling effort after his cool penalty following Andrew Taylor's handball.
But Graham still found time to find an 85th-minute winner in an action-packed match with a fine flicked header.
Former England manager Sven-Goran Eriksson has galvanised Leicester since he took charge and the Foxes came so close to taking a point away from Hertfordshire.
But Watford did start stronger, centre-half Martin Taylor scuffing a volley wide from an early corner.
The hosts went ahead in the 15th minute when Jordon Mutch's free-kick delivery from the right was met crisply by Eustace as he got away from his marker to steer his shot into the far corner.
Mutch and Leicester midfielder Andy King then traded long-range efforts which both fizzed wide.
Buckley soon doubled Watford's lead in comical fashion in the 22nd minute.
Though defender Jack Hobbs was dispossessed on the halfway line, there still looked little danger as the ball was punted forward.
But Leicester goalkeeper Chris Weale made a complete hash of cutting out the pass, misjudging the flight of the ball to present Buckley with the easy task of tapping into an open goal.
Eriksson's side rallied just before the break and then deservedly pulled a goal back five minutes after the restart.
Darius Vassell ran into the area before playing in Kyle Naughton on the overlap and when his cross struck Andrew Taylor, referee Kevin Wright had no hesitation in awarding the penalty.
Former Blackburn man Gallagher smashed it into the roof of the net, before being denied an equaliser minutes later when Loach pulled off a reflex save with his feet.
His equaliser came when, after being fouled on the edge of the area by Lloyd Doyley, he whipped a smart effort over the wall and past Loach to find the bottom corner.
But Watford sealed victory with five minutes to go when Mutch - whose set-pieces had been consistently immaculate - floated in another great cross which Graham flicked across Weale and into the far corner.
Live text and stats
Saturday, 4 December 2010
Npower Championship
Home Team
Score
Away Team
Time
Watford
3-2
Leicester
FT
(HT 2-0)
Eustace 15
Buckley 22
Graham 85
Gallagher (pen) 50
Gallagher 69
Watford
01 Loach
03 A Taylor
05 M Taylor
06 Mariappa
12 Doyley
04 Eustace
07 Cowie
11 Buckley yellow card (Deeney 56)
15 McGinn (Sordell 79) (Massey 88)
18 Mutch
10 Graham
Substitutes
13 Gilmartin,
02 Hodson,
17 Bennett,
14 Jenkins,
09 Deeney,
20 Sordell,
27 Massey
Leicester
01 Weale
16 Naughton
24 Davies
25 Hobbs
10 King (Oakley 63)
19 Wellens
22 Abe
32 Cunningham
07 Gallagher
37 Vassell (Waghorn 77)
39 Bednar (Howard 58 yellow card)
Substitutes
13 Logan,
04 Morrison,
05 Miguel Vitor,
08 Oakley,
11 Dyer,
09 Howard,
14 Waghorn
Ref: WrightAtt: 14,449
WATFORD
LEICESTER
Possession
Watford51%
Leicester49%
Attempts on target
Watford5
Leicester10
Attempts off target
Watford4
Leicester7
Corners
Watford8
Leicester8
Fouls
Watford6
Leicester10
Final Result
Full Time
90:00+5:20 The final whistle goes and the game is over.
90:00+4:48 Yuki Abe takes a shot. Blocked by Martin Taylor.
90:00+4:37 The ball is delivered by Martyn Waghorn.
90:00+3:41 The ball is crossed by Kyle Naughton, free kick awarded for an unfair challenge on Adrian Mariappa by Steve Howard. Scott Loach restarts play with the free kick.
90:00+3:22 Jordon Mutch is penalised for handball and concedes a free kick. Free kick taken by Matt Oakley.
90:00+1:47 Inswinging corner taken from the left by-line by Paul Gallagher.
90:00+1:29 Kyle Naughton sends in a cross, Adrian Mariappa manages to make a clearance.
90:00+1:21 A cross is delivered by Greg Cunningham, clearance made by John Eustace.
90:00+1:01 A cross is delivered by Gavin Massey, save made by Chris Weale.
89:36 Yuki Abe takes a shot. Save by Scott Loach.
87:01 Steve Howard is caught offside. Indirect free kick taken by Scott Loach.
87:01 Substitution Gavin Massey on for Marvin Sordell.
85:44 Effort on goal by Steve Howard from long range goes harmlessly over the target.
84:25 The assist for the goal came from Jordon Mutch.
84:25 GOAL - Danny Graham:Watford 3 - 2 Leicester Danny Graham grabs a headed goal from inside the six-yard box. Watford 3-2 Leicester.
83:25 Outswinging corner taken by Jordon Mutch, Steve Howard makes a clearance.
82:07 Corner from the left by-line taken by Paul Gallagher, Close range strike by Yuki Abe goes over the bar.
81:07 Steve Howard is penalised for handball and concedes a free kick. Indirect free kick taken by Scott Loach.
81:07 Booking Steve Howard receives a yellow card.
78:59 Kyle Naughton is penalised for a handball. Scott Loach takes the free kick.
78:59 Substitution (Watford) makes a substitution, with Marvin Sordell coming on for Stephen McGinn.
77:22 Greg Cunningham delivers the ball, Andrew Taylor makes a clearance.
76:51 Unfair challenge on Curtis Davies by Stephen McGinn results in a free kick. Free kick taken by Chris Weale.
76:13 Substitution Martyn Waghorn comes on in place of Darius Vassell.
75:49 The ball is swung over by Kyle Naughton, Adrian Mariappa manages to make a clearance.
75:34 Darius Vassell sends in a cross.
74:40 Steve Howard challenges John Eustace unfairly and gives away a free kick. Free kick taken by Adrian Mariappa.
74:20 Don Cowie takes a shot. Save made by Chris Weale.
71:57 Darius Vassell is penalised for handball and concedes a free kick. Direct free kick taken by Don Cowie.
70:57 Don Cowie produces a cross.
70:08 Curtis Davies challenges Stephen McGinn unfairly and gives away a free kick. Jordon Mutch crosses the ball in from the free kick, Matt Oakley manages to make a clearance.
68:46 Lloyd Doyley gives away a free kick for an unfair challenge on Paul Gallagher.
68:46 GOAL - Paul Gallagher:Watford 2 - 2 Leicester Paul Gallagher grabs a goal from outside the box to the bottom left corner of the goal. Watford 2-2 Leicester.
65:22 Troy Deeney produces a right-footed shot from deep inside the area which goes wide of the left-hand post.
65:10 The ball is swung over by Don Cowie, clearance by Jack Hobbs.
64:14 Free kick awarded for a foul by Darius Vassell on Andrew Taylor. Free kick taken by Adrian Mariappa.
63:50 Adrian Mariappa sends in a cross, Chris Weale makes a save.
62:59 Steve Howard gives away a free kick for an unfair challenge on Adrian Mariappa. Adrian Mariappa takes the free kick.
62:59 Substitution Matt Oakley on for Andy King.
61:48 The ball is sent over by Darius Vassell, Paul Gallagher takes a shot. Save by Scott Loach.
61:05 Danny Graham produces a cross, Chris Weale makes a save.
60:13 Corner taken by Jordon Mutch from the left by-line, Jack Hobbs manages to make a clearance.
59:41 Steve Howard is penalised for handball and concedes a free kick. Adrian Mariappa restarts play with the free kick.
57:20 Substitution (Leicester) makes a substitution, with Steve Howard coming on for Roman Bednar.
56:58 A cross is delivered by Andrew Taylor, clearance by Yuki Abe.
56:00 Substitution Troy Deeney is brought on as a substitute for Will Buckley.
55:39 Corner taken by Greg Cunningham.
55:20 Greg Cunningham takes a shot. Martin Taylor gets a block in.
55:08 Richie Wellens decides to take a short corner.
55:02 Richie Wellens crosses the ball, clearance made by Adrian Mariappa.
54:32 Paul Gallagher takes a shot. Save by Scott Loach.
53:25 Shot from just outside the area by Roman Bednar misses to the left of the target.
51:55 Jordon Mutch fouled by Roman Bednar, the ref awards a free kick. Free kick taken by Adrian Mariappa.
51:06 Martin Taylor fouled by Roman Bednar, the ref awards a free kick. Scott Loach restarts play with the free kick.
49:47 The referee gives a against Andrew Taylor for handball.
49:47 GOAL - Paul Gallagher:Watford 2 - 1 Leicester Paul Gallagher scores a penalty. Watford 2-1 Leicester.
46:33 Inswinging corner taken by Greg Cunningham from the right by-line, Roman Bednar takes a shot. Clearance by Adrian Mariappa.
45:48 Inswinging corner taken left-footed by Greg Cunningham from the right by-line to the near post, Will Buckley manages to make a clearance.
45:01 The second half begins.
Half Time
45:00+1:59 The whistle is blown to end the first half.
45:00+0:09 The referee penalises Martin Taylor for handball. Paul Gallagher shoots direct from the free kick.
44:08 Paul Gallagher takes a shot. Save by Scott Loach.
43:00 Free kick awarded for a foul by Will Buckley on Greg Cunningham. Paul Gallagher takes the direct free kick.
43:00 Booking Will Buckley receives a yellow card for unsporting behaviour.
41:11 Richie Wellens crosses the ball.
40:19 The referee blows for offside against Will Buckley. Free kick taken by Chris Weale.
38:06 The ball is delivered by Richie Wellens, clearance made by Lloyd Doyley.
37:15 The official flags Roman Bednar offside. Free kick taken by Scott Loach.
37:03 The ball is sent over by Paul Gallagher.
36:00 Free kick awarded for a foul by Lloyd Doyley on Paul Gallagher. Greg Cunningham takes the direct free kick.
35:23 Corner taken by Paul Gallagher from the left by-line, save by Scott Loach.
35:05 Richie Wellens takes a shot. Save by Scott Loach.
34:53 Paul Gallagher crosses the ball, clearance made by Adrian Mariappa.
34:21 John Eustace crosses the ball.
32:53 Free kick awarded for an unfair challenge on Stephen McGinn by Curtis Davies. Free kick taken by Adrian Mariappa.
29:22 Paul Gallagher takes a outswinging corner from the right by-line played to the near post, Will Buckley makes a clearance.
29:02 Richie Wellens takes a shot. Blocked by Adrian Mariappa.
28:34 The ball is crossed by Jordon Mutch.
27:27 The ball is sent over by Danny Graham, Curtis Davies manages to make a clearance.
26:09 Unfair challenge on Martin Taylor by Roman Bednar results in a free kick. Free kick taken by Don Cowie.
25:20 A cross is delivered by Kyle Naughton, clearance by Adrian Mariappa.
25:08 Will Buckley sends in a cross, clearance made by Curtis Davies.
23:38 Free kick awarded for an unfair challenge on Lloyd Doyley by Paul Gallagher. The ball is sent over by Don Cowie, Headed effort from inside the area by Martin Taylor misses to the left of the target.
21:35 Assist on the goal came from Don Cowie.
21:35 GOAL - Will Buckley:Watford 2 - 0 Leicester Will Buckley scores a goal from inside the penalty box low into the middle of the goal. Watford 2-0 Leicester.
20:22 Greg Cunningham sends in a cross, Shot by Roman Bednar from deep inside the penalty area misses wide to the left of the target.
19:37 The ball is crossed by Lloyd Doyley, clearance by Greg Cunningham.
19:07 Darius Vassell produces a cross, Adrian Mariappa manages to make a clearance.
17:55 Shot from just outside the box by Andy King misses to the right of the target.
16:41 Corner taken right-footed by Jordon Mutch, Martin Taylor gives away a free kick for an unfair challenge on Chris Weale. Chris Weale restarts play with the free kick.
16:26 Jordon Mutch takes a shot. Blocked by Yuki Abe.
16:07 Paul Gallagher produces a cross, clearance by Andrew Taylor.
14:07 Outswinging corner taken from the right by-line by Jordon Mutch, Jordon Mutch provided the assist for the goal.
14:07 GOAL - John Eustace:Watford 1 - 0 Leicester John Eustace grabs a goal from deep inside the penalty box to the bottom right corner of the goal. Watford 1-0 Leicester.
13:24 Greg Cunningham is adjudged to have handled the ball. Adrian Mariappa takes the free kick.
12:19 Corner taken right-footed by Jordon Mutch from the left by-line, John Eustace produces a header from deep inside the six-yard box which goes wide of the right-hand upright.
12:08 Andrew Taylor delivers the ball, Yuki Abe makes a clearance.
11:20 The referee blows for offside. Scott Loach takes the free kick.
10:18 Corner taken right-footed by Jordon Mutch, save by Chris Weale.
9:12 Free kick awarded for an unfair challenge on Greg Cunningham by Will Buckley. Chris Weale takes the direct free kick.
8:42 A cross is delivered by Richie Wellens, Scott Loach makes a save.
5:06 The assistant referee flags for offside against Roman Bednar. Adrian Mariappa restarts play with the free kick.
4:26 Richie Wellens produces a cross, Adrian Mariappa manages to make a clearance.
3:46 Roman Bednar takes a shot. Blocked by Adrian Mariappa.
3:02 Corner taken by Jordon Mutch from the left by-line played to the near post, clearance by Jack Hobbs.
2:54 Don Cowie delivers the ball, Jack Hobbs makes a clearance.
1:03 Jordon Mutch takes the inswinging corner, Martin Taylor has an effort at goal from close in which goes wide right of the target.
0:00 The ref blows the whistle to begin the match.
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