Jamie and the magic touch sinks the Baggies
AFTER doubling Leicester’s lead from the penalty spot in the 74th minute, Jamie Vardy cupped his ears to the empty stand behind the West Brom goal.
Last season’s Golden Boot winner had just extended his 100 per cent scoring record at The Hawthorns to five games and could not resist a dig at the absent Albion fans doubtless berating him in front of their televisions.
Vardy scored another penalty ten minutes later to pick up where he left off last term, when his 23 goals made him the leading scorer in the top flight. Even though he turns 34 in January, Vardy’s speed, instinct and devilish streak remain as prominent as ever, and he even survived an injury scare in the second half to score his goals.
That’s six in five matches here, and he has moved on to 105 Premier League strikes, one ahead of Chelsea great Didier Drogba.
‘I practise penalties every week, so I knew where I would hit those,’ said Vardy. ‘I’ve enjoyed playing here over the years and scoring goals, so that celebration was for the West Brom fans at home.’
Leicester will need him as much as ever for the tougher tasks ahead, though this was a solid display that included a debut goal for Timothy Castagne, the £22million summer signing from Atalanta, and a second-half substitute appearance for James Maddison following hip surgery in July.
‘With top-quality players, it doesn’t matter what they have done in the past, or how much they earn,’ said Leicester boss Brendan Rodgers. ‘They want to be the best they can be and I expect Jamie will have another great season.’
Despite an encouraging start, West Brom were outclassed for the final hour. No wonder Slaven Bilic used his programme notes to request three or four new players for his promoted side. With a transfer budget of only around £25m — and much of it spent on £15m Grady Diangana from West Ham — he may be lucky to get them. Adding a quick striker looks particularly important.
Rodgers also wants new players and called for more ‘quality’ in his squad before this one. With Jonny Evans suspended and Wes Morgan and Filip Benkovic injured, he moved holding midfielder Wilfred Ndidi into central defence and started Castagne — signed after the £50m sale of Ben Chilwell to Chelsea — at right-back, with James Justin on the left side.
Bilic opted for a 3-4-3 formation with no orthodox centre-forward, using Callum Robinson at the point of their attack and allowing Diangana and Matheus Pereira to roam behind him.
It was not until the half-hour mark that Leicester started to threaten. Harvey Barnes spun into space and released Ayoze Perez inside the box, only for the Spaniard to take a poor touch.
Then it was Barnes’ turn to waste a good chance when he volleyed straight at Sam Johnstone from eight yards after Dennis Praet twice swapped passes with Perez before crossing. Moments later, Johnstone denied Barnes again.
Leicester were starting to hold sway before the break and after it, picked up where they had left off. When the goal came, it was Perez and Praet who combined again. After Albion made a mess of clearing a corner, the Spaniard found Praet and the midfielder clipped over a delightful ball for fellow Belgian Castagne to power in a header in the 56th minute.
‘My biggest disappointment was our reaction after their first goal,’ said Bilic. ‘Our mentality was not the same.’
Leicester doubled their lead after Kyle Bartley bundled Vardy over as he charged into the box, anticipating a cross from Barnes. Vardy sent the ball to Johnstone’s right and ten minutes later did precisely the same, with the kick awarded this time for Dara O’Shea’s clumsy tackle on Justin.
It was an impressive recovery from a player whose afternoon looked to be finished when, after a late challenge on Johnstone in the 67th minute, he limped away and fell to the ground with his hands over his face. But, then again, Vardy has made a career of confounding expectations.