VARD TO HANDLE Jamie levels before Clarets are denied by video referee
LEICESTER 2 BURNLEY 1
VAR and Vardy combined to hand emotional Foxes fans the victory they craved.
Youri Tielemans’ goal ended up deciding 90 minutes dedicated to the memory of former Leicester chairman Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha.
But Jamie Vardy also had his say in a game that saw Burnley ultimately denied a point by remote referees peering at video footage.
Ex-England striker Vardy is one of a handful of Foxes left from the squad that defied 5,000-1 odds to hold the Premier League trophy aloft in 2016.
That miracle was made possible by Thai tycoon Srivaddhanaprabha, who died almost a year ago in a helicopter crash.
Four others also lost their lives in that King Power Stadium tragedy, but the thousands of Foxes fans who marched together to the stadium were mainly paying tribute to the man they used to call Boss.
Foxes manager Brendan Rodgers said: “We wanted this to be a celebration and there was a lot of emotion around the stadium.
“The players deserve huge credit because emotionally it wasn’t easy. To get the three points was really pleasing.”
The Clarets stunned Leicester by taking a 26th-minute lead through ex-Fox Chris Wood – the man who would ultimately turn out to be the VAR villain.
The big Kiwi frontman made the mistake of leaving the King Power Stadium on the eve of the Premier League-winning season.
But he reminded the home fans of what they never really missed by nodding in Dwight McNeil’s cross from the right.
Kasper Schmeichel got a touch but couldn’t keep it out – and berated his defenders for letting Wood get his noggin on the ball.
Vardy hardly had a kick before firing a difficult chance into the side netting after the half-hour mark.
That was greeted by cries of “Rooney!” and “Your wife’s a grass” from away fans who had enjoyed Coleen Rooney’s online spat with Rebekah Vardy.
But the ex- England man rose above Ben Mee to head home Harvey Barnes’ cross just before the break.
He wheeled away in delight before addressing the Burnley fans by cupping hands to ears.
The hosts came out for the second half looking like they meant business. James Maddison and Ayoze Perez both fired over before Vardy netted again, but sub Demarai Gray was so obviously offside in the buildup that VAR was not needed.
Foxes joy finally arrived when Barnes dummied Gray’s cross to let it reach Tielemans in space in the box and the Belgian gleefully lashed home.
Wood could have levelled but scuffed a great chance wide on the turn after James Tarkowski had opened up the home defence with a 3 ............. Shots on Target ........... 4 9 ............. Shots off Target........... 3 7 ...............Blocked Shots ............ 6 9 .....................Corners................... 4 4 ........................Fouls ................... 10 2 .....................Offsides .................. 3 0 .................Yellow Cards .............. 3 0 ...................Red Cards ................0 83.0 .... Passing Success %...72.7 59 .................Duels Won ..............47 55.7........ Duel Success %..... 44.3 22 ....................Tackles ..................15 59.1.......... Tackles Won %......80.0 64.6 ......... Possession %....... 35.4 41.3 ....... Territorial Adv %.... 58.7 554 ............Total Passes .........300 22 ..............Total Crosses ............19 135................ Lost Balls ............. 139 41 .................Recoveries..............42 75.2.........1st Half Poss %. ..... 24.8 53.5....... 2nd Half Poss %..... 46.5 flick-on. Then came the oddball VAR incident. Tielemans lost possession and Schmeichel came out to parry Wood’s shot.
The rebound hit Wood and then Jonny Evans, who fell to the turf in the act of failing to stop it going in.
Had he been fouled by Wood? Indeed. VAR picked up an accidental trip and Burnley went home beaten.
Clarets boss Sean Dyche said: “I’ve seen it back 12 times. Chris does catch the heel of Evans but he is never going to get that in a million years. You all know what an intentional clip looks like – he was just staring at the ball.”