Leicester City vs Fulham. Premier League.
The King Power StadiumAttendance32,017.
Report and highlights as Brendan Rodgers wins his first home game since appointment
Saturday 9 March 2019 20:52, UK
Jamie Vardy reached a century of Leicester goals as relegation-threatened Fulham were beaten 3-1 to give Brendan Rodgers a first win in charge at the King Power Stadium.
Youri Tielemans gave the hosts a deserved lead from Vardy's unselfish pass (21), but substitute Floyd Ayite hauled Fulham level in untidy fashion when his shot deflected in off Harry Maguire (51).
Leicester re-established their lead when Vardy was found by James Maddison to score his 100th goal for the Foxes (78), and the striker sealed the victory when he stroked in Harvey Barnes' cross with four minutes remaining.
The result moves Leicester above Everton into 10th position while Fulham remain 19th, but are now 13 points adrift of safety.
Leicester had 11 shots on goal in a one-sided opening period with Fulham - who had gained just two points from their previous 15 away league games, failing to register a single attempt before the interval.
Vardy missed a glorious chance to break the deadlock when he was released by Barnes, but the striker allowed Havard Nordtveit to make a last-ditch recovery tackle before Sergio Rico could be tested.
Two minutes later, Vardy was once again played through on goal after Wilfred Ndidi dispossessed Calum Chambers, but this time he unselfishly teed up Tielemans for a simple finish.
Barnes, Maddison and Tielemans all fired wide from the edge of the area as a combination of Rodgers' high-pressing tactics and Fulham's flawed attempts to play out from the back contributed to an onslaught on Rico's goal.
But Fulham regathered themselves at the break, with Scott Parker introducing Ayite for Ryan Sessegnon - and the move paid instant dividends.
Ben Chilwell failed to cut out Nordtveit's raking pass, allowing the Togolese winger to step inside and fire past Kasper Schmeichel via a deflection off Maguire.
Rico had to produce a stunning save to deny the impressive Barnes, before Joe Bryan's cross was nearly headed in by Aleksandar Mitrovic but for the fingertips of Schmeichel.
But Fulham would again be the authors of their own downfall as Maddison pounced on Nordtveit's ill-judged attempt to play out from the back to set up Vardy for a trademark strike across Rico. Eight minutes later, Barnes did brilliantly to escape Denis Odoi to tee up Vardy for his second and seal a first victory for Rodgers.
Brendan Rodgers: "We're asking them to play an intense game and there's still lots of improvements we can make with and without the ball, but I'm delighted for the players. It's a great start for us [at home] because I know these games have been difficult for us this season.
"Vardy's tactically very good. How he presses the game and how he leads the press. As you can see, he doesn't need too many chances. He's one of the top strikers in this division, and he produced two wonderful finishes."
Scott Parker: "Individual errors have cost us the game and have been a massive part of this year. It's going to be really, really tough. I sit here with realism. I understand the situation. I'm not blinded by that.
"The message remains that as long as it's mathematically possible we fight - but we know it's going to be really tough."
Vardy proved the match-winner with two well-taken strikes, but it was the invention of Barnes alongside Tielemans and Maddison that caught the eye.
Leicester brought the attacking midfielder back from his loan spell at West Brom, and here was another demonstration of why it was felt he is ready to play at this level.
The 21-year-old completed 90.9 per cent of his passes while only Maddison (3) created more chances than his two during the match. When Leicester looked slightly vulnerable after Fulham's shock equaliser, it was Barnes' positivity and class that dragged his team-mates to victory - capped by his unselfish assist for Vardy's second.
Leicester travel to face Burnley at Turf Moor next Saturday at 3pm, while Fulham host Liverpool next Super Sunday at 2.15pm, live on Sky Sports Premier League.
