Vardy and VAR combine to help Leicester upset Bournemouth
Two goals from Jamie Vardy helped Leicester City extend their unbeaten start to the season in a match that brought a fresh VAR controversy.
Vardy scored early in the first half and added a points-clincher 17 minutes from the end. Youri Tielemans tapped in his first of the season in between, providing the assist for the third.
Yet it could be argued the Belgian was lucky to still be on the field after getting the benefit of the doubt following a video assistant referee review of a studs-first challenge on Callum Wilson early in the second half with the score at 2-1.
Tielemans connected with the England striker’s right ankle, which buckled on impact. It looked bad but, after consulting the VAR team, referee Peter Bankes took no action. Happily, Wilson was able to resume after treatment, although he said later in an interview that
“he almost broke my ankle”.
“Watching it live, it looked over the top and he missed the ball,” Bournemouth manager Eddie Howe said. “It looked dangerous and reckless, and I don’t know what VAR is thinking in terms of why they haven’t acted on it.”
Leicester manager Brendan Rodgers thought the contact was accidental. “If you review it and slow it right down it looks a really bad tackle,” he said. “But it’s just one of those things that accidentally happens. If you’ve coached the game or played the game at any sort of level, you would know that Youri is just trying to get his body between Callum Wilson and the bouncing ball.”
Howe did not use the incident as an excuse, but lamented his side’s failure to limit the threat posed by Vardy.
His opening goal after 12 minutes was a classic from the Vardy playbook, combining timing, pace, vision and deft finishing. Breaking at just the right moment to steal a couple of yards as Ben Chilwell launched a ball over the top, he saw Aaron Ramsdale off his line and, from 25 yards, lobbed the goalkeeper.
Bournemouth levelled three minutes later as Leicester were caught cold, allowing Wilson to slip in behind, but the rest of the show belonged to Vardy, with a little help from Tielemans. Vardy set up the second Leicester goal for his teammate, who returned the favour late in the game, sliding a pass across a crowded box for Vardy to turn it past Ramsdale. “We talked about Vardy, but we did not deal with him well enough,” Howe said. “The first goal, from the long ball, that’s what he specialises in. We’ve only ourselves to blame.”