The Sports Lowdown For All Your News and OpinionsClaudio Ranieri will be delighted that his team earned their first clean sheet of the season as the Foxes defeated Crystal Palace.
It had been nearly a month since Leicester played in front of their home crowd due to the international break and the Rugby World Cup breaking up the fixtures. The fans welcomed the Foxes back with a huge reception as the King Power Stadium was rocking once again.
The game was fairly even in the first half with no clear-cut chances; Marc Albrighton coming the closest to breaking the deadlock early on with a great run before striking the post from range.
The visitors posed little threat to the Foxes during the first period despite spells of possession. Christian Fuchs and Danny Simpson can be credited with successfully containing Bakary Sako, Yannick Bolasie and Wilfried Zaha; three players known to be menacing for many a defence.
In a game which looked certain to produce a number of goals, it took just one to separate the teams and it came on the hour-mark with no surprises over who opened the scoring. Jamie Vardy scored his 10th goal in as many games after Leicester capitalised on a defensive mistake from the Eagles.
Brede Hangeland panicked under pressure and gifted the ball to Riyad Mahrez; the Algerian’s first-time pass put Vardy through on goal to lift the ball over Wayne Hennessey and fire home the winner.
Palace did fight back later on in the second half and referee Mike Dean turned down numerous penalty shouts from the visitors. Zaha was booked for simulation in the latter stages as he threw himself to the floor in a desperate attempt to get a spot-kick.
Vardy now joins an elite list of players and becomes the fifth Englishman to score in seven successive Premier League games. Daniel Sturridge currently holds the record amongst English players for scoring in eight consecutive games; Vardy has a great chance of beating this as he just needs goals against West Brom and Watford.
Three points is the most important objective in each match for the Foxes and this result has taken them four points above Palace to 5th. It is important Leicester rack up the points at this early stage as they face a tough run in December but they are almost halfway to Ranieri’s desired points tally.
The Leicester boss promised to buy pizza for his team when they kept their first clean sheet so the players can now enjoy this well-earned reward.
Hull City await the Foxes on Tuesday in the fourth round of the League Cup and a number of changes will be expected from Ranieri once again with both Leicester sides seeming capable to put in a strong performance.
