Wes Morgan scored a 90th-minute winner for 10-man Leicester as they overcame the fourth-minute dismissal of Harry Maguire to claim an unlikely victory over Burnley at a wet and windy Turf Moor.
The England defender was shown a straight red card for bringing down Johann Berg Gudmundsson but Burnley were unable to make their numerical advantage count and the 2-1 defeat was their fourth in a row.
Leicester took the lead in the 33rd minute through a fine free-kick from James Maddison but 19-year-old Dwight McNeil equalised with his second Premier League goal five minutes later.
Burnley pushed for what would have been a potentially crucial win in their battle against relegation but instead it was Morgan who found the breakthrough, heading in Youri Tielemans’ deflected cross.
Gudmundsson’s recall in place of Jeff Hendrick was the only change made by either manager, and the Icelander quickly justified his selection.
Moments after Ricardo Pereira had a shot well blocked by James Tarkowski, Burnley broke and Jack Cork played in Gudmundsson, who cleverly cut across Maguire and had his ankles clipped.
With Maguire the last man and Gudmundsson only a few yards outside the penalty area, referee Michael Oliver had no choice but to show him a red card, making it the quickest dismissal in the Premier League for four years.
Gudmundsson nearly scored from the free-kick, seeing his effort deflected onto the bar before Demarai Gray was sacrificed to allow Morgan to plug the defence.
Gudmundsson was certainly proving a handful for the Foxes and, after a jinking run was halted, it needed a desperate toe from Wilfred Ndidi to prevent the ball reaching Chris Wood in front of goal.
The two linked up again shortly afterwards, this time Wood heading Gudmundsson’s cross wide.
But Burnley were mostly playing to Leicester’s strengths, while the Foxes looked a threat on the break.
And Maddison made the home side pay, picking himself up after he had been bundled over by Tarkowski and firing a free-kick into the top corner from 20 yards.
The winger was booked for taking his shirt off to reveal a message in tribute to Sophie Taylor, a five-year-old girl he befriended who died from cancer in January.
Burnley’s fans made it clear they were far from happy with their team’s efforts and Tom Heaton had to react smartly to stop Jamie Vardy making it two.
However, Burnley finally stretched the play five minutes later and found the equaliser, McNeil celebrating his first call-up to the England Under-20 squad by collecting a return ball from Charlie Taylor and sweeping it into the far corner.
Burnley appealed for a penalty early in the second half when Jonny Evans blocked Wood’s shot and prevented the ball breaking for Ashley Barnes, but Oliver was unmoved and Cork fired over from the rebound.
There was more urgency about the Clarets and Ashley Westwood shot just wide moments later but they could not maintain the momentum and the game became scrappy.
Sean Dyche sent on Peter Crouch with 20 minutes left, and moments later the Clarets again appealed strongly for a penalty when Taylor cut across Ndidi and went down, but Oliver ruled there was not sufficient contact.
The pressure on the Leicester goal was growing and McNeil twice came close to scoring his second but both times he was just off target, and from a rare attack it was the visitors who retook the lead.
Just like at Liverpool last week, Burnley played a part in their downfall, with Ben Mee taking a poor touch in the area. The Clarets dealt with the corner but the ball was played back to Tielemans and Morgan rose highest.
Heaton came forward as Burnley desperately sought an equaliser but it was not to be.
