Nine Big Goals From Our No.9

First Team
10 Mar 2019
5 Minutes
Jamie Vardy has netted some of the most significant goals in Leicester City’s modern history since joining from Fleetwood Town in 2012.

He has scored in the UEFA Champions League, Premier League, Championship, FA Cup and League Cup for the Foxes, and is one of the most prolific goalscorers the Club has ever seen.

Since his first goal in Leicester colours against Torquay United in August 2012, he has beaten 51 different goalkeepers and got himself on the scoresheet against 36 different teams.

After his 100th City goal came against Fulham on Saturday, LCFC.com highlights nine of his most important strikes for the Club.

The hunt for promotion

With both Leicester City and Queens Park Rangers vying for automatic promotion to the Premier League, Jamie Vardy’s winner at Loftus Road on 21 December, 2013 proved huge in the Championship title race. Controlling a flick-on and bursting past Richard Dunne before firing low beyond Rob Green, Vardy put City within a point of the league’s summit. They moved into first position on Boxing Day and held that position for the rest of the season, accumulating 102 points in the process, just four shy of Reading’s 106 record.

A historic win over the Red Devils

When Manchester United visited King Power Stadium in September 2014, the Foxes were buoyed by their slender triumph over Stoke City a game prior – their first win of the campaign. The King Power Stadium encounter saw Louis Van Gaal’s side storm into a 2-0 lead, before Leonardo Ulloa pulled a goal back. Ander Herrera restored Man Utd’s two-goal cushion after the break, but a stunning comeback saw strikes from David Nugent and Esteban Cambiasso level matters before Vardy raced through to make it 4-3. Ulloa added a fifth goal from the penalty spot, as City wrapped up one of the most stunning victories the Premier League has ever seen.

The second of seven victories in nine games

A crucial win over West Ham United a game prior kick-started the ‘Greatest Escape’, before City headed to the Hawthorns for another huge game against West Bromwich Albion. A typically end-to-end encounter saw David Nugent cancel out Darren Fletcher’s early opener before Craig Gardner put the hosts 2-1 up midway through the first half. However, Robert Huth’s 80th-minute header gave the Foxes hope. In a trademark press from Vardy, he robbed former Fox Gareth McAuley on the halfway line before sliding the ball past Boaz Myhill to spark ecstatic injury-time scenes in the away end.

‘It’s 11, it’s heaven for Jamie Vardy!’

If Leicester City’s position atop of the top-flight table wasn’t a big enough talking point ahead of the clash with the Red Devils in November 2015, Vardy was targeting a record-breaking 11th- straight Premier League strike. A perfectly-weighted no-look pass from Christian Fuchs found the No.9, who took a touch to set himself before firing past David De Gea to break Ruud Van Nistelrooy’s record of 10 consecutive goals. Sky Sports commentator Martin Tyler’s iconic ‘it’s 11, it’s heaven for Jamie Vardy!’ commentary perfectly captured the electric mood on a memorable night at King Power Stadium.

Changing of the guard

Having won the Premier League title at a canter in 2014/15, Chelsea visited Filbert Way in December to face the current leaders, who had not lost since September. City did not disappoint, with Vardy scoring their first on 34 minutes before Algeria international Riyad Mahrez added a spectacular second after the interval. Loïc Rémy pulled a goal back for José Mourinho’s men, but the hosts did not crumble under the pressure as they recorded a big three points in their fight for the title.

The Liverpool volley

Few words are required for this one. Sublime skill from Mahrez saw him take a first touch before curling a brilliant pass over the top of Liverpool’s back line and into the path of the Leicester striker. His first-time volley from 25 yards out dipped over Simon Mignolet before a second followed 11 minutes later.

Crowning of a Premier League champion

What better way to celebrate the day Leicester City were presented with the Premier League trophy than by scoring a brace against Everton? There was more than three points at stake. The Foxes wanted to maintain their record of losing just three league games all season, and Vardy’s fifth-minute goal set City on the path to victory, before he added a second after Andy King’s first-half effort on Filbert Way. What followed will forever be known as the greatest day in the Club’s history.

An away goal to remember

Two goals down following efforts from Pablo Sarabia and Joaquin Correa handed Sevilla a commanding advantage during the UEFA Champions League Last-16 First Leg tie at Ramon Sanchez-Pizjuan Stadium. However, Vardy converted a low cross from Danny Drinkwater to halve the deficit in Spain and take an away goal back to Leicester City. At King Power Stadium, City put in an exceptional display as goals from Wes Morgan and Marc Albrighton secured a 2-0 triumph to send them into the quarter-finals of the most prestigious knockout competition in club football.

March’s Premier League Goal of the Month

Despite falling behind early on at the Hawthorns after a goal from Salomon Rondon, City turned the game on its head through goals from Vardy, Mahrez, Kelechi Iheanacho and Vicente Iborra. It was Vardy’s strike, however, that grabbed the headlines, as he guided an excellent first-time over-the-shoulder volley past Ben Foster and into the bottom corner of the net. His strike won him the Premier League’s Goal of the Month award for March.