Jamie Vardy fired Leicester City up to second in the Premier League table with a 2-0 win at Tottenham Hotspur.
Leicester’s manager Brendan Rodgers made three changes to his XI from the 2-0 defeat by Everton, with the most notable being Belgium international full-back Timothy Castagne’s inclusion.
He returned after a hamstring injury saw him miss their last 12 matches in all competitions, while Jonny Evans was available to start after a one-game suspension. Ghana international Daniel Amartey was fit enough to take a spot among nine substitutes for the clash in the capital.
Tottenham manager Jose Mourinho made two changes from the midweek defeat at Liverpool, Reguilon and Tanguy Ndombele coming in for Ben Davies and Steven Bergwijn. Gareth Bale also returned to the bench after missing our last two matches through illness and there were nine substitutes on the bench after a change in the Premier League rules in midweek.
Vardy took his tally to 11 goals for the season with a penalty in first-half stoppage time, which was awarded for Serge Aurier’s challenge on Wesley Fofana after Craig Pawson went to the Referee Review Area.
Leicester thought they had doubled their lead two minutes after the break but James Maddison’s effort from James Justin’s long ball was overturned for offside following a Video Assistant Referee review.
But they did not have to wait long before Vardy’s header at the back post was deflected in off Toby Alderweireld for an own goal.
Spurs had brought on Gareth Bale at half-time but they then lost Giovani Lo Celso to injury and were unable to beat Kasper Schmeichel.
The Leicester goalkeeper twice denied Harry Kane before making a sensational save from Son Heung-min.
Leicester’s first win at Spurs since their title-winning season puts them four points behind Liverpool. Their opponents drop to fifth, two points further back.
Match – Stats :
| Tottenham Hotspur | Leicester City | |
|---|---|---|
| 56.4 | Possession % | 43.6 |
| 3 | Shots on target | 4 |
| 8 | Shots | 17 |
| 710 | Touches | 615 |
| 518 | Passes | 406 |
| 20 | Tackles | 19 |
| 13 | Clearances | 26 |
| 5 | Corners | 3 |
| 2 | Offsides | 4 |
| 2 | Yellow cards | 2 |
| 15 | Fouls conceded | 14 |
What Next ?
- Leicester’s next Premier League challenge arrives on Boxing Day, when Manchester United visit King Power Stadium for a 12:30pm kick-off, while two days later, the Foxes head to Selhurst Park to take on Crystal Palace (3pm kick-off).
- Spurs will play at Wolves on 27th December.
Post-Match Reactions:
Jose Mourinho, Tottenham Manager :
“A bit unlucky, but also a bit of our own responsibility. I would say that,” he said. “We didn’t start well at all. There were empty spots on the pitch where the attitude, the pressing, the intensity was not there and the team was suffering that. We managed to hide these empty spots and improve a lot from the first 15, 20 minutes to the second 15, 20 minutes and it’s when we were creating chances and having our chances to score that they had the penalty. From there, of course, the game is different. In spite of that, we were trying in the second half, we were dominating, we didn’t have any problems in behind, but the own goal, 2-0, the game was not dead, the reaction was positive again, we had a big chance from Sonny, but Schmeichel made a brilliant save, so we couldn’t even reduce it to 2-1 to keep the game alive.”
Brendan Rodgers, Leicester Manager :
“I’m so pleased. Right from the first whistle, we took the initiative in the game. We wanted to impose our way and show confidence. But I think what was pleasing is how we learnt from the last time we were here. We were 3-0 down and they played on the counter-attack.
“So, this was a game strategically where the players were first class in how they blocked off the space. We didn’t give away too many counter-attacks and we showed really good balance in our game.”
Rodgers praised striker Vardy for his composure to convert a penalty in the fourth minute of first-half stoppage time against a talented shot-stopper in Huge Lloris. When asked about Vardy’s clinical nature from 12 yards, he said: “He always does, against Lloris as well, who’s a very agile goalkeeper and good on penalties. He practices those.
“It’s always difficult under the pressure situation, but yes, he stuck it away and that was obviously important against Tottenham. If you go a goal behind, it can be very difficult for you, but thankfully, we got the goal and played with even more confidence.”
Rodgers felt for attacking midfielder James Maddison when his fine touch and finish was ruled out by VAR for offside after the break, but City were soon 2-0 up anyway after Alderweireld bundled the ball into his own net.
“It was so unfortunate, really,” Rodgers said of Maddison’s effort. “From the images that I’ve seen, it must have been so, so tight, and I don’t think anyone would have argued if it was a goal.
“But we regained our composure, having had a goal disallowed, got back in again I think we controlled the second half without the ball, while carrying a real threat when we did have it. We showed a real maturity in managing the game today, which was really pleasing.”
