Vardy back in party mood as Leicester ease relegation fears
Jamie Vardy always has a party at the Hawthorns. His latest goal in the Black Country surely ends any lingering relegation fears for the Premier League champions, nearly 12 months to the day when that remarkable title win was confirmed.
Vardy now has three goals in three games at the home of West Bromwich Albion, who have gone 465 minutes without finding the net, to ensure a memorable return for former Baggie Craig Shakespeare.
Albion’s defeat was their fourth in a row and while Tony Pulis’s players appear to be running on empty, Leicester and Vardy have been revitalised since the controversial departure of Claudio Ranieri in February.
Vardy appeared lost and ineffectual at times during those difficult final months under Ranieri but his ruthlessly executed strike here takes Leicester to 40 points and virtually secures top-flight football next season. The England international now has eight goals in 12 games, his return to form timely and sorely needed.
Shakespeare, who played and coached in these parts, will have taken another step towards securing the manager’s post permanently after ending his side’s run of five games without a win.
“We’re not mathematically safe, but it helps us take a giant step towards that aim,” he said.
“It will be a difficult end to the season and we have to try and win every game we can.
“Jamie is in that purple patch that strikers can go through, he’s got a cool head in front of goal at the moment and I thought the goal epitomised him.
“I want him to finish on a high. He’s scored quite a few of late and I want that to continue.”
It was after West Brom’s 2-1 win at the King Power Stadium in November that doubts over Ranieri were starting to grow. But this scrappy Midlands meander had as much sparkle as an annual birdwatchers’ meeting, a game with the unmistakable whiff of two teams desperate for the season to come to an end.
Referee Mark Clattenburg was bringing the curtain down on his Premier League career and will probably feel aggrieved at being given such a dead rubber to mark his farewell.
Albion’s problems in front of goal are mounting and can surely not have escaped the attention of owner Guochuan Lai in China.
Chris Brunt, the midfielder, had the
only chance for Albion in the first half, with his close-range header forcing Kasper Schmeichel into a theatrical save after 18 minutes.
Riyad Mahrez was having one of those infuriating afternoons where he drifts in and out – and was clearly disappointed when he was later taken off – and Leicester were struggling to create any nervy moments.
But out of nowhere they took the lead two minutes before half-time. Shinji Okazaki reacted quickly after Salomón Rondón surrendered posses- sion on the halfway line and played in Vardy, whose finish into the bottom corner was clinical.
Albion did threaten sporadically in the second half, with Rondon and James Morrison testing Schmeichel but the goal never looked like coming.
The boos at the end will only have enhanced Pulis’s message to the board that a raft of new signings are desperately needed.
Pulis also appeared to confront a supporter near the end.
He said: “I don’t think we’ve strolled around. What we need is that killer instinct in the final third.
“I’m disappointed for the players again because I thought we worked really hard. We’ve got four games left, 12 points are available.”