A Matt Doherty own goal and James Maddison strike wins it for Leicester - watch match highlights here
Saturday 18 August 2018 19:34, UK
Jamie Vardy was given a straight red card on his first start of the Premier League season as Leicester beat Wolves 2-0 on Saturday.
It was Wolves defender Matt Doherty who gave the Foxes the lead in the 29th minute as he powered a header into his own net, before James Maddison hit home on the stroke of half-time to seal the victory.
Leicester ended the game with 10 men as Vardy was sent off in the 66th minute following a crunching studs-up tackle on Doherty.
Wolves were denied by the woodwork on three occasions and gave the Leicester defence plenty to think about, but were unable to make the breakthrough on a frustrating afternoon.
Wolves came racing out of the blocks with Joao Moutinho rattling the crossbar inside three minutes. Sixty seconds later, some good work from Raul Jimenez saw him keep the ball in play before cutting back for Doherty, but his attempted strike was kept out by the legs of Ben Chilwell.
The visitors rattled the woodwork for a second time in the 22nd minute as Jimenez latched onto a loose ball at the top of the area before hitting a thunderous volley. Leicester goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel leapt to make the save - pushing the ball onto the crossbar - and was lucky the rebound off his back did not go in.
Leicester took the lead seven minutes later although it came from Doherty's head. Albrighton whipped a lovely ball into the area from the right, with Conor Coady getting a slight touch before Doherty powered a header past his own goalkeeper.
On the stroke of half-time, the Foxes doubled their lead. Ricardo Pereira strode towards the top of the box before being fouled, but the loose ball fell to a waiting Maddison who hit hard and low to send the ball past Patricio, albeit taking a deflection off Ryan Bennett on the way through.
Wolves made two half-time changes, introducing Leo Bonatini and club-record signing Adama Traore, who was involved instantly. He lofted a ball towards the back post for Jimenez but his shot was once again blocked by the legs of Chilwell. Not long after, Demarai Gray also had a long-range effort, but his strike sailed past Patricio's upright.
Leicester went down to 10 men in the 66th minute after a terrible tackle from Vardy. He launched into a challenge on Doherty and while he initially got the ball, his studs were on show as he slammed into the back of the defender's knee. At close range, referee Dean had no choice but to show a straight red card.
The visitors struck the crossbar for the third time in the 80th minute as Jimenez scooped a ball towards the back post for Jonny, but he struck the top corner on a tight angle. Five minutes later, and Neves went for the spectacular from 20 yards, but Schmeichel made a superb, leaping save to keep him out as Leicester won their first game of the new season.
Claude Puel: "It was not his [Vardy's] intention to make a foul and he touched the ball. He was enthusiastic and it is a pity. We need now to find a solution to replace him and it will be a good opportunity for another player to show their quality.
"Perhaps after touching the ball, he touches the player. It was not aggressive and he has been unlucky with this tackle."
Nuno Espirito Santo: "We started well, we controlled the game and we created enough chances. We must believe we can score in every moment - at the beginning, the middle and the end of the game.
"Last week we drew and today we lost, but we are playing the way we want and the team has a lot of things to improve. This is our job and we'll do what we can with the maximum of our strengths."
Matt Le Tissier: "There's a lot of positives to take of this game for Wolves. I was really impressed by them and they were very unfortunate to lose this game 2-0. The first goal was a very unfortunate own goal, and Wolves could've been 2-0 up at that point. They hit the woodwork a couple of times, and I thought they were the better side in the first half.
"I don't think there'll be any questions marks about that [Vardy's red card]. He went in with far too much aggression that was needed for the challenge... I don't think there'll be any complaints or an appeal. Wolves actually looked more dangerous when they were playing against 11 men than they did against 10."
It was another strong performance from Leicester's No 10, who capped off his second game with a goal. Although he had a quiet opening half hour, he soon found his feet and linked up well with Gray and Pereira in attack.
He deserved a goal after his efforts against Man Utd last weekend went unanswered, and Leicester fans will be hoping it is the first of many.
Leicester will take on Southampton at St Mary's next weekend in the Premier League while Wolves will face a tough fixture against Premier League champions Manchester City at Molineux in the Saturday lunchtime kick-off, live on Sky Sports.
