Foxes Regain Second By Beating Watford
Brendan Rodgers was forced into making one change to his starting XI, as Christian Fuchs made his 100th Premier League appearance for the Football Club after replacing Ben Chilwell, who picked up a knock ahead of the match.
With just two minutes on the clock, City had a huge opportunity to take the lead, only for Spaniard Ayoze Pérez to lift Jamie Vardy’s cross over the bar from inside the box.
Shortly after, Academy graduate Harvey Barnes struck the side-netting after a slick combination with James Maddison, while they also linked up 10 minutes later, only for Barnes to be denied by Ben Foster.
A penalty shout for the hosts, after a VAR check, was turned down just before the interval, and while Vardy appeared to be caught on the foot, he was booked for simulation.
After the break, for the second time in the game, Barnes had a shot saved by Foster, but the Foxes finally had their opener just minutes later.
Jonny Evans was fouled by Adam Masina in the Watford area and after a VAR check, they were awarded a penalty, handing Vardy the opportunity to score in a seventh-straight Premier League match.
Such is the current form of City’s No.9, the outcome proved to be as expected, as he rolled it into the bottom corner past Foster to net his 14th Premier League goal of the 2019/20 campaign.
Not long after, substitute Dennis Praet had a strike blocked, before Vardy lifted a strike over Foster and into the path of Barnes, only for Kiko Feminía to make a crucial clearance on the line.
It was attacking midfielder Maddison who would go on to round off the scoring, as he latched onto Premier League and Filbert Way debutant James Justin’s header before firing beyond Foster in the fifth minute of injury time.
Major moment
Having previously had a penalty shout turned down, the Foxes were awarded a spot-kick in the early stages of the second period after Adam Masina caught Jonny Evans with a flailing arm in the Watford box.
A short delay followed as VAR confirmed the decision, and it was then up to Jamie Vardy to convert from 12 yards – and he did exactly that.
Who impressed?
Matt Elliott told LCFC Radio: “I’m going to turn into a predictable person because me and Gerry Taggart are often similar minded, and I’m not sure if that’s a bad thing! He went for Ricardo Pereira on Sunday and I have to do the same tonight.
“He was a big influence and Wilfred Ndidi was great again. There were some decent performances and the centre-halves were solid too. Christian Fuchs deserves a shout too, but I’m going to have to go with Ricardo. He was a class operator out there.”
Where do we stand?
Leicester City leapfrog Manchester City and move back into second place after 15 Premier League outings in 2019/20.
They now have a 12-point cushion in the top four and remain three points above third-placed Man City.
Coming up…
Brendan Rodgers’ outfit will continue their enthralling Premier League season on Sunday 8 December, when they make the short trip to Villa Park to face Dean Smith’s Aston Villa (2pm GMT kick-off).