Image source, Getty Images

Phew. An incredible 10-hour stint of high-octane EFL action is at a close.

Time to rest up, take on some fluids and recover, because our team, and your teams, will be back on Friday, 29 December (that's three days from today, Tuesday, for all of those who have lost track of the days this week).

There is a full slate of Championship, League One and League Two action to look forward to and it's all in the evening, just to confuse you even further.

Until then, thanks for your company today, and for the last time this year, Merry Christmas from us all!

Image source, Huw Evans Picture Agency

Earlier today Southampton closed the gap on the top two with a thumping 5-0 win over Russell Martin’s former side Swansea.

They climbed to third above Leeds, who were beaten late on at Preston in the lunchtime game.

Fifth-placed West Brom held on to beat Norwich – now only Man Utd have more Boxing Day wins in English football than the Baggies’ 46 - while Sunderland edged Hull by the same 1-0 scoreline to leapfrog the Tigers into the final play-off place.

Bristol City’s eye-catching 4-1 win at Watford saw them climb to eighth with the Hornets, Cardiff, Norwich and Middlesbrough all losing ground.

At the bottom of the pile Rotherham’s third win of the season, against Middlesbrough, their first under Leam Richardson, was not enough to haul them off the bottom but has taken them level on points with Sheffield Wednesday, 2-0 losers at Coventry.

QPR are four points ahead of the pair after the 2-0 derby defeat at Millwall in the early kick-of,f while Stoke are four clear of the drop-zone ahead of their game with Birmingham - and seeking to keep pace with Huddersfield and Millwall, who picked up useful victories this afternoon to give them a cushion over the bottom three.

Ipswich boss Kieran McKenna told Sky Sports: "I thought we deserved something from the game, the boys were a credit to themselves.

"The goal comes from a fortunate deflection but we deserved it for the performance.

"We stayed true to our beliefs against a really good team, and doing it that way we learnt a lot from tonight.

"We know the strengths of the teams we are up against and know we have to improve our squad with the resources we may have."

Image source, BBC Sport

Despite the late leveller Leicester still have an 11-point lead in the race for automatic promotion after 24 matches.

It was so nearly 13, but they'll be delighted with a six-point cushion at the top after what looks like being perhaps their most testing game of the entire season.

Ipswich's impressive start to the campaign continues and they have a five-point advantage over third place and a 17-point lead in the play-off race.

Ipswich skipper Sam Morsy told Sky Sports: "Great credit to the lads, we kept going. I just kept going really (for the goal) there weren't too many options on.

"Leeds was disappointing but sometimes we hold our hands up, they were better on the day. We don't dwell on a defeat.

Town striker Conor Chaplin told Sky Sports: "We were comfortable, we thought at half-time we had done well, we just had to be more decisive. I think we were full value for our goal.

"We take confidence from this definitely - we know we are a game for anyone on this pitch in front of these fans."

Aaron Paul
BBC Radio 5 Live commentator

Sam Morsy embodies everything about this Ipswich team, he just carries on going, driving from the front, leading by example.

Many may have thought that hope had ebbed away with that Nathan Broadhead slip, but Suffolk's Egyptian King has come up trumps...(with the aid of a deflection).

Mick Mills
Former Ipswich and England captain on BBC Radio Suffolk

It was a joy to behold when that Sam Morsy hit wrong-footed the Leicester goalkeeper.

Ipswich got more points than Leeds got this afternoon and that could be massive.

Matt Piper
Former Foxes winger on BBC Radio Leicester

Jannik Vestergaard has left the pitch without talking to anyone, he is absolutely fuming.

But you cannot say you could not feel it.

You need that second to make sure, and if you don't get it you are susceptible.

I'm gutted but not as gutted as I normally would be, that is still a good away performance from Leicester.

1-1 is a better result for Leicester than Ipswich.

Image source, Rex Features

And breathe....

Leicester never put the game to bed and Ipswich showed they are simply too good to let off the hook.

A big result for both teams in different ways. Ipswich avoid back-to-back defeats under Kieran McKenna for the first time and proved they are not going to exit the promotion race without a fight.

Leicester miss out on a sixth straight win in agonising fashion but continue their momentum towards an immediate return to the top flight.

Matt Piper
Former Foxes winger on BBC Radio Leicester

This is why I say you need a second goal against a team like Ipswich.

'If you cannot win it now don't lose it' is an old mantra from an old manager of ours.

It would still be a good result to get a 1-1 away at Ipswich.

Omari Hutchinson blazes down the right and pulls the back from the byline, it drops to Freddie Ladapo but his close-range shot cannons behind off a defender.

Ipswich inexplicably try a short corner and are made to pay as it comes to nought.

Five added minutes for someone to make themselves a hero.

Just as it looked like Ipswich had opened up the City defence, Nathan Broadhead slips.

Massimo Luongo and Conor Chaplin combine superbly but instead of trying a shot on his left foot, Broadhead opts to chop back inside and loses his footing.

Was that the opening?

Aaron Paul
BBC Radio 5 Live commentator

These are two heavyweights just battering each other, one slip in concentration from the opponent and it will flip, the margins are so fine, and so we have changes...

There's the plug and play Ipswich attack! Kieran McKenna has shuffled his front line as he looks to get something going. The Aussie destroyer Massimo Luongo is also on, just to hoover things up and get Town going when they need it again. The recycler.

Enzo Maresca has also made changes, I love Cesare Casadei, he really is a champagne footballer at this level, highly intelligent.

Freddie Ladapo comes off the bench for Ipswich to try to salvage something, anything, from the game.

Kayden Jackson, the first-half sub, is withdrawn.

Surely there'll be a chance. There's always a chance.

Ladapo has eight goals off the bench, what he'd give for number nine right here.

Ipswich win themselves a corner but cannot take advantage.

Time is running out and Ipswich fans are staring at the very real possibility of losing back-to-back league games for the first time since November 2021...

...the month before Kieran McKenna took over, funnily enough.

Matt Piper
Former Foxes winger on BBC Radio Leicester

Leicester defenders - put your foot through the ball and get it as close to Norwich as you can!

Image source, Getty Images

Omari Hutchinson, Nathan Broadhead and Massimo Luongo are coming on for Ipswich. Nice options for Kieran McKenna to have at his disposal.

Wes Burns, Jack Taylor and Marcus Harness are withdrawn. Plenty more games in a short period of time, of course. It's a balancing act, is football management at this time of year.

Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall gets the hook for Leicester with fit-again Galatasaray loanee Yunus Akgan coming on.

Matt Piper
Former Foxes winger on BBC Radio Leicester

Ipswich came up from League One last season, remember.

They are serial winners, imagine the belief that they have got, you need to kill it.