Rodgers enjoys victory from the stands

NEW Leicester boss Brendan Rodgers looked on from the stands as his side beat Brighton 2-1 at the King Power Stadium.

The Northern Irishman was confirmed as Claude Puel’s replacement after compensation was agreed with Celtic.

Foxes caretaker Mike Stowell was in the home dugout, with former Liverpool boss Rodgers, who has signed a deal until June 2022, set to take over in preparation for the game with Watford on Sunday.

Leicester took the lead on 10 minutes when Demarai Gray was released by a clever reverse pass from Youri Tielemans, signed on loan from Monaco during January.

Kasper Schmeichel saved from former Foxes midfielder Anthony Knockaert before Glenn Murray blazed over from close range early in the second half.

It proved a crucial miss as Jamie Vardy then doubled Leicester’s lead on 63 minutes after being played in by James Maddison.

Brighton swiftly gave themselves a lifeline when Davy Propper scored his first goal for the south-coast club on 66 minutes, but they could not find an equaliser.

Gylfi Sigurdsson, meanwhile, struck twice as Everton won 3-0 at Cardiff, who remain just a point above the relegation zone.

The Toffees, playing their first match since February 9, broke the deadlock five minutes before halftime when Sigurdsson converted a cut-back from Seamus Coleman.

The Icelander struck again on 66 minutes, lashing home the loose ball after Neil Etheridge had palmed away Morgan Schneiderlin’s effort.

Everton, who had lost their previous three matches to put pressure on manager Marco Silva, wrapped things up through Dominic Calvert-Lewin in stoppage time.

Bottom club Huddersfield ended a run of five straight Premier League defeats after battling to a 1-0 home win over Wolves with a late goal from Steve Mounie.

It was a first victory for Terriers manager Jan Siewert, whose side move to within three points of Fulham.