Vardy suffers knockout blow
STRIKER LIMPS OFF IN LEICESTER ROMP
JAMIE VARDY became the latest prominent English striker to suffer an injury this month with Brendan Rodgers hoping his first-half departure does slow Leicester’s Champions League bid.
The Premier League’s top scorer grabbed the back of his left thigh in pain after clearing a ball late in the first half and though he briefly tried to continue after treatment, he was replaced by Kelechi Iheanacho.
Leicester manager Rodgers sought to calm fears over Vardy, saying: ‘He just felt a twinge in his glute. It wasn’t his hamstring, so that’s good news for us. We’ll assess it over the next couple of days. There’s more concern if it’s a hamstring injury.’
Rodgers could not put a timescale on his key man’s recovery, with tests expected today. His injury, following those to Harry Kane, Marcus Rashford and Tammy Abraham, cast a shadow over Leicester’s most commanding performance of 2020.
First- half goals from Harvey Barnes and Ricardo Pereira put them in control and while Mark Noble’s penalty early in the second half gave West Ham hope, Ayoze Perez also scored from the spot nine minutes from time to give the Foxes breathing space, then added his second seven minutes later.
David Moyes’s team are above the bottom three only on goal difference, while Leicester now have a 14-point gap to fifth-placed Manchester United with 14 games remaining.
Rodgers said: ‘ Jamie is very important for us but you’re never going to succeed if you just rely totally on one player. It was a very good performance, we showed authority and personality.’
After leaving out Hamza Choudhury and Ben Chilwell for the defeat at Burnley because they missed a key training session, Rodgers restored Chilwell to his starting XI — though Choudhury was again omitted.
Barnes was a constant threat for the home side and he opened the scoring in the 24th minute. Collecting the ball from James Maddison, Barnes drifted through the centre before finding Pereira to his right, and continued his run to tap the return pass into an empty net. Then came the injuries that briefly left Leicester scrambling. First Nampalys Mendy with a knee problem and then Vardy.
The home side doubled their lead when Barnes teased Pablo Zabaleta before releasing Pereira to drill into the bottom corner.
West Ham were back in the game early in the second half when they were awarded a controversial spotkick after Sebastien Haller collided with Wilfred Ndidi and Noble sent Kasper Schmeichel the wrong way.
Leicester restored their two-goal cushion when Angelo Ogbonna brought down Iheanacho inside the box and Perez converted with ease. The Spaniard added his second with a low shot late on. West Ham’s next league match is against Liverpool next Wednesday. Moyes said: ‘The Premier League always throws up surprises and we have to be looking to make one of those shock results happen.’ LEICESTER CITY (4-1-4-1): Schmeichel 5; Pereira 7.5, Evans 6, Soyuncu 6, Chilwell 7; Mendy 6.5 (Ndidi 34, 6); PEREZ 8, Maddison 7, Tielemans 6, Barnes 8 (Morgan 83); Vardy 6.5 (Iheanacho 44, 6). Subs not used: Ward, Justin, Gray, Albrighton. Scorers: Barnes 24, Pereira 45, Perez 81 (pen), 88. Booked: Schmeichel. Manager: Brendan Rodgers 7.5. WEST HAM UNITED (4-4-1-1): Randolph 6.5; Zabaleta 5, Diop 6, Ogbonna 5.5, Cresswell 5.5; Snodgrass 6 (Fornals 46, 6), Rice 6, Noble 6.5, Masuaku 5 (Antonio 46, 6.5); Lanzini 5.5; Haller 5. Subs not used: Martin, Reid, Balbuena, Sanchez, Ajeti. Scorer: Noble 50 (pen). Booked: Ogbonna. Manager: David Moyes 5.5. Referee: David Coote 6. Attendance: 31,968.