The Courier & Advertiser (Angus and Dundee)
Jamie Vardy takes to the air to celebrate scoring in managerless Leicester City’s 3-1 Premier League win over Liverpool last night.
Vardy believes ‘unfair stick’ over Ranieri sacking spurred on Foxes
LEICESTER CITY 3 LIVERPOOL 1
Jamie Vardy claims Leicester’s players have been subjected to “unfair stick” since Claudio Ranieri’s sacking.
The England striker scored twice in Leicester’s 3-1 victory over Liverpool at the King Power Stadium last night – the first game of the post-Ranieri era.
Ranieri was sacked on Thursday, just nine months after guiding the Foxes to an improbable Premier League title, with the club now embroiled in a relegation scrap.
Senior Leicester players, including Vardy, have rallied against suggestions they plotted the Italian’s downfall since his departure. And the 30-year-old, who ended a personal Premier League drought which stretched back to December, believes the win could be a catalyst for the struggling Foxes.
Speaking to Sky Sports, Vardy said: “We’ve come under a lot of unfair stick with the stuff that’s been in the press lately and the lads wanted to put a reaction in.
“The performance showed we wanted to do that but it’s up to us to consistently do that.” JAMIE VARDY
Asked what had gone wrong this season, he added: “I can’t put my finger on it.
“We’ve been working hard and it’s not been happening but tonight it has all clicked.
“I’ve been very frustrated with the amount of goals I’ve got this season but hopefully those two goals will push me on and there will be more to follow.
“It was definitely a case of (being damned if we did and damned if we didn’t) tonight.
“We just needed to show we’ve got that fighting intensity.”
Danny Drinkwater netted a brilliant second goal between Vardy’s strikes, with Philippe Coutinho’s effort midway through the second half scant consolation for Jurgen Klopp’s lacklustre Reds, who missed the chance to return to the top four.
We’ve been working hard and it’s not been happening but tonight it has all clicked.