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Tottenham presented Leicester with a pair of early Christmas gifts, as Jamie Vardy’s penalty kick and Toby Alderweireld’s own goal led the Foxes to a 2-0 win and second place in the Premier table League on Sunday.
At the end of an even first half, Serge Aurier, in what Sky Sports insider Roy Keane described as a moment of “total madness,” stormed Wesley Fofana in the Spurs area and, after a VAR check, a penalty was awarded. , that Vardy (45 + 4) hit home.
The Foxes thought they had punched twice early in the second half, when James Maddison converted a long forward pass, but the VAR saw an offside. However, the impressive Alderweireld gave Leicester another hand in the 59th minute, turning Vardy’s header into his own net, after the forward jumped past Moussa Sissoko.
The result compounds a bad week for José Mourinho’s side, who now have just one win in five Premier League games and are third ahead of Manchester United’s nighttime clash with Leeds, but Leicester will spend Christmas as the closest rival. Liverpool, four points from first place.
How Leicester beat the Spurs …
After both teams suffered midweek defeats in the Premier League, they entered the Premier League looking for an answer and it was Leicester who had the previous half chances, with Fofana leading Maddison’s free kick before Vardy’s volley was blocked by Alderweireld.
The Spurs were back on the conservative side, finally getting their first shot on goal in the 34th minute off a deflected free kick from Harry Kane, which unleashed an encouraging spell, with the striker heading from Heung-Min Son’s corner shortly after.
But it was Leicester who came into the break smiling, when Aurier unnecessarily stormed into Fofana while trying to pick up a Harvey Barnes takedown in the Spurs area in the first half of injury time.
The foul was initially missed, but after a VAR check, referee Craig Pawson checked the courtside monitor and pointed to where Vardy crashed with a low shot down the middle. That was Leicester’s eighth penalty converted in the Premier League this season, three more than anyone else.
James Maddison scores but VAR rules him offside
It was Tottenham’s first time behind in the Premier League at halftime this season and almost instantly lost 2-0 after the restart, when Maddison fired from James Justin’s long forward pass, but a VAR check detected a tight offside offense.
The Spurs, who had replaced Tanguy Ndombele with Gareth Bale, lost Giovani Lo Celso to injury afterward and in the midst of those changes had a hard time clicking gear while looking for a leveler.
Sergio Reguilon thought his team should have received a one-handed penalty in the Leicester area just before the hour, but his appeals were rejected, and seconds later the visitors had doubled their lead.
Toby Alderweireld deflects the ball into his own net from Jamie Vardy’s downward header
Marc Albrighton advanced down the right and crossed for Vardy, who beat Sissoko in the six-yard box and then saw his header accidentally deflected by Alderweireld.
Kane shot Kasper Schmeichel and his attacking partner Son elicited a superb reaction save from the Leicester goalkeeper as the Spurs attempted to return to the game, but despite a late handball yell against Fofana, he showed little sign of denying the team. for Brendan Rodgers a sixth away win in seven trips to the Premier League.
Jamie Vardy celebrates his penalty goal in the first half
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- Tottenham have lost two of their last three Premier League games against Leicester (G1), as many losses as in their previous 12 games against the Foxes in the competition (G7 D3).
- Leicester have earned their first away victory in the Premier League against Spurs since a 1-0 win in 2015-16 (the season in which they lifted the Premier League trophy).
- Leicester City will be in the top two of the top flight table at Christmas in consecutive seasons for the first time in its history.
- Leicester has earned 18 points in its last seven road games (6 wins and 1 loss), the most it has accumulated in its first seven away games of a league season in its history (assuming three points for a win) .
- Leicester’s Jamie Vardy has been directly involved in seven goals (five goals, two assists) in seven Premier League away games against Spurs, more than any other opponent on the road in the competition.
- Leicester manager Brendan Rodgers claimed his first win in all competitions against a José Mourinho team, having failed to win any of his previous seven matches (D2 L5).
- Leicester’s Jamie Vardy has scored 19 goals in his last 19 Premier League away matches, while becoming the first player to score an away goal against an opponent at three different competition venues (White Hart Lane, Wembley and Tottenham Hotspur Stadium).
- No player has scored more own goals for Spurs in the Premier League than Toby Alderweireld – three (along with Harry Kane).
- Since joining Spurs for the 2017-18 season, Serge Aurier has given away four penalties in the Premier League, second only to David Luiz in this period (five).
Whats Next?
Tottenham will travel to Stoke on Wednesday to play the quarterfinals of the Carabao Cup, which you can watch live on Sky Sports Football starting at 5 pm; start 17.30 h. They will then play Wolves on December 27, live on Sky Sports Premier League starting at 7 pm; start 19:15 h. The next step for Leicester is an intriguing Boxing Day showdown with Man Utd.
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