Jamie Vardy plunders Crystal Palace to become Leicester's man of the century

It was a struggle, it was not hugely convincing, but it was a win – and given how things have been going recently for Leicester, that is the most important thing. Not much less significant is that Jamie Vardy is scoring again. His first goal, his 100th in the Premier League, was a simple tap-in, but his second was the Vardy of old, a confident, dinked finish in injury-time after a classic breakaway. If this is a return to form, it could be decisive in Leicester holding on to third place.

Since scoring at Manchester City just before Christmas, Vardy’s only goals had come against Aston Villa in the final game before lockdown. Brendan Rodgers had been keen to stress that Vardy’s drought was indicative of a collective failing and that there has been a problem getting players up alongside him. To that end, he selected Kelechi Iheanacho alongside Vardy, with Ayoze Pérez deployed behind them.

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Numbers in forward areas, though, do not necessarily equal creativity. James Maddison, who missed out after aggravating a hip injury, was badly missed.

The lack of confidence was reflected in a lack of imagination and an almost complete unwillingness to take risks, particularly before half-time. It was all very cautious, all very predictable.

The frustration, though, was broken four minutes into the second half. Youri Tielemans’s low cross looked too close to Vicente Guaita, but the goalkeeper dithered before making a strange shovelling gesture at the ball as it passed in front of him, allowing Iheanacho to pounce for his second goal in three days.

That changed the dynamic of the game, forcing Palace to attack, which in turn increased the space Vardy had to run into. His first goal, though, had little to do with anything but a slip from Mamadou Sakho. Harvey Barnes took advantage and squared for Vardy to knock in to an empty net and become the 29th player to hit three figures in the Premier League.

“I’m privileged to work with a top striker,” said Rodgers. “His speed right at the very end of the game, his thinking and his movement to get in and stay onside – and his finishing.

“It’s been hard for him because he hasn’t had too many chances. I had a chat to him yesterday about getting back to what he’s good at. When he’s at his best he hunts everything down.”

Characteristically, Vardy refused to talk about the individual milestone, saying that he would reflect on it at the end of the season. He seemed far more concerned about the scrap for Champions League qualification. “We’ve not been playing our best,” he said. “Today was about getting back to basics.”

Roy Hodgson, who gave Vardy his England debut, congratulated him on his achievement while noting that for a long time Palace had kept him fairly quiet. “I don’t think at any stage we were being outplayed or under enormous pressure but unfortunately we made mistakes and they were harshly punished. All goals are mistakes, but some are more obvious than others.”

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The suggestion Leicester have not got going since the restart is only partially true. Leicester have not really recovered from the back-to-back defeats to Manchester City and Liverpool over Christmas.

Before those two reverses, they took 39 points from the 17 games; even with this win they have taken 19 from the 14 games since.

Injuries have been a major factor and Ben Chilwell and Pérez were added to the casualty list. Chilwell required an injection in his heel to start and was withdrawn at half-time while Pérez took a knock to the ankle. Madison is unlikely to be fit for Tuesday.

It was not the most fluent display from Leicester but Palace made two desperate mistakes and Iheanacho and Vardy were sharp enough to capitalise.

The points may have been the result of Palace’s generosity but, for now, Leicester retain their grip on third.