Saracens tame Tigers
Owen Williams got Tigers moving with a penalty after ten minutes but Farrell pegged them back with a three-pointer of his own 15 minutes later.
Farrell edged Saracens ahead with a second penalty after half an hour before a dominant Leicester scrummaging effort paved the way for a Williams penalty before he missed a gilt-edged chance just on the stroke of half-time to leave the scores at 6-6.
There was no mistake with his next chance after 46 minutes, but it was Farrell who turned the game on its head with a well-taken score ten minutes later before trading penalties with Williams as they soaked up huge amounts of pressure to seal a tenth win of the season.
That loss means Tigers remain outside the top four, while Mark McCall's side stay in second behind Wasps going into Round 13.
Manu Tuilagi departed the field injured after just six minutes following a powerful run into the Saracens 22, fending one tackler and racing wide to be hauled down by three men and land awkwardly.
Williams got Tigers on the board with a penalty after ten minutes, but Farrell and Ben Spencer kicked cleverly to keep the hosts pinned in their own territory and the England No. 10 eventually levelled the scores after 25 minutes when Leicester strayed offside.
Farrell then moved the reigning Premiership champions ahead with a second penalty five minutes later after JP Doyle pinged Tigers at the breakdown.
England scrumhalf Ben Youngs' probing kick forced Alex Goode to carry into touch on the five-metre line and after a quickly taken line-out, they earned a penalty that Williams dispatched.
Goode was again caught out when Lachlan McCaffey made the most of a huge Tigers scrum, sending a massive kick downfield that the fullback was forced to carry dead.
Two more superb efforts from Tom Youngs, Dan Cole and Ellis Genge at the resultant scrum handed Williams a chance to move Tigers into a deserved lead at the break, but the Welshman could not convert.
Thankfully for Tigers, their control at scrum time continued and Williams knocked over a penalty from 44 metres out after eight minutes of the second period before Farrell missed an easy shot moments later.
The England star made amends in superb fashion moments later, spotting a gap next to prop Cole, dummying and racing through for the game's first try, which he then converted to take Saracens 13-11 ahead.
Farrell took Saracens seven points in front with a penalty, but Williams struck back almost immediately before the champions weathered a late Tigers storm.
The scorers:
For Leicester:
Pens: Williams 4
For Saracens:
Try: Farrell
Con: Farrell
Pens: Farrell 3
Teams:
Leicester Tigers: 15 Freddie Burns, 14 Peter Betham, 13 Jack Roberts, 12 Manu Tuilagi, 11 Adam Thompstone, 10 Owen Williams, 9 Ben Youngs, 8 Lachlan McCaffrey, 7 Brendon O'Connor, 6 Mike Williams, 5 Mike Fitzgerald, 4 Ed Slater, 3 Dan Cole, 2 Tom Youngs (captain), 1 Ellis Genge.
Replacements: 16 George McGuigan, 17 Pat Cilliers, 18 Greg Bateman, 19 Graham Kitchener, 20 Will Evans, 21 Sam Harrison, 22 George Worth, 23 Tom Brady.
Saracens: 15 Alex Goode, 14 Chris Ashton, 13 Marcelo Bosch, 12 Brad Barritt (captain), 11 Sean Maitland, 10 Owen Farrell, 9 Ben Spencer, 8 Jackson Wray, 7 Schalk Burger, 6 Michael Rhodes, 5 Maro Itoje, 4 Will Skelton, 3 Juan Figallo, 2 Jamie George, 1 Richard Barrington.
Replacements: 16 Schalk Brits, 17 Hayden Thompson-Stringer, 18 Titi Lamositele, 19 Jim Hamilton, 20 Kelly Brown, 21 Neil De Kock, 22 Alex Lozowski, 23 Nathan Earle.
Referee: JP Doyle
Assistant Referees: Paul Dix, Roger Baileff
TMO: David Grashoff
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