West Brom 0-3 Leicester: Jamie Vardy starts season with two goals from the penalty spot
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 – cheeky as always – he could not resist a dig at the absent Albion supporters who were doubtless berating him in front of their televisions.
Vardy scored another penalty 10 minutes later to pick up where he had left off last term, when his 23 goals made him the leading scorer in the top flight.
Jamie Vardy scored twice from the penalty spot as Leicester recorded an opening-day victory
Vardy sent West Brom keeper Sam Johnstone the wrong way twice in the second-half
Leicester’s number nine was clinical from the spot as Leicester earned a comfortable win
Leicester’s new signing Timothy Castagne (right) opened the scoring with a brilliant header
The former Atalanta man celebrates a goal on debut which broke the deadlock on Sunday
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 – six in five matches here, and he has moved onto 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 Vardy as much as ever for the tougher tasks that lie ahead, though this was a solid display which also featured 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 money they earn,’ said Leicester manager 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 of the game and it is easy to understand why boss 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 the £15m signing of Grady Diangana from West Ham – he may be lucky to get them.
Adding a pacy centre-forward looks particularly important. Rodgers shares Bilic’s wishes for new players and called for more ‘quality’ in his squad before this one.
With Jonny Evans suspended and Wes Morgan and Filip Benkovic injured, Rodgers 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 Justin on the left side.
The Foxes were dominant in the second-half once they opened the scoring at the Hawthorns
Vardy celebrates his first goal with team-mates Marc Albrighton and Youri Tielemans
Bilic opted for a 3-4-3 formation with no orthodox centre-forward. Albion used Callum Robinson at the point of their attack and allowed Diangana and Matheus Pereira to roam behind him.
In the early stages, Leicester were twice nearly caught on the break. Diangana had made a lively start and freed Robinson in the ninth minute for a cut-back that did not find a team-mate. Soon afterwards, Justin switched off at left back, allowing goalkeeper Sam Johnstone to find Darnell Furlong with a single pass. Justin hacked Furlong down on the edge of the box but Pereira’s free-kick was deflected wide.
It was not until the half-hour mark that Leicester started to threaten. Harvey Barnes – who had a fine loan spell with Albion in the first half of the 2018-19 campaign – 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 Johnstone from eight yards after Dennis Praet twice swapped passes with Perez before crossing. Moments later, Johnstone denied Barnes again from inside the box.
Leicester were starting to hold sway before the break and after it, they picked up where they had left off. When the goal came, it was Perez and Praet who combined once again. After Albion had made a mess of clearing a corner, the Spaniard found Praet and the midfielder clipped over a delightful ball for his fellow Belgian Castagne to power in a header at the far post in the 57th minute.
Leicester boss Brendan Rodgers can be satisfied with his team’s performance on Sunday
It was a tough first match for Slaven Bilic’s West Brom in their first game back in the top-flight
Leicester defender James Justin is closed down on the wing by West Brom’s Darnell Furlong
‘My biggest disappointment was our reaction after their first goal,’ said Bilic. ‘After that, our mentality was not the same.’
The Foxes thought they had doubled their advantage soon afterwards when Barnes’ deflected volley looped over Johnstone and was turned in by Perez. Yet the goal was chalked off as Vardy was in an offside position when the ball skimmed off his shoulder.
Vardy was not to be denied in the 73rd minute when Kyle Bartley bundled him over as the forward charged into the box anticipating a cross from Barnes. Vardy sent the ball to Johnstone’s right and 10 minutes later, he 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.
