SM
Brighton vs. Man City: 9 hrs 51 mins
Upcoming predictions and previews
AV
Premier League
Dec 8, 2019 at 2pm UK
 
LL

1-4

Grealish (45')
FT(HT: 1-2)
Vardy (21', 75'), Iheanacho (41'), Evans (49')

Rodgers: 'Leicester looking to close the gap to Liverpool'

:Headline: Rodgers: 'Leicester looking to close the gap to Liverpool': ID:382203: from db_amp
Leicester are eight points behind Premier League leaders Liverpool.

Brendan Rodgers insists Leicester are happy to be the forgotten men in the title race after a rampant win at Aston Villa.

Jamie Vardy scored twice to inspire the Foxes to a 4-1 victory to set a new club record of eight straight top-flight wins.

Kelechi Iheanacho and Jonny Evans also netted as Leicester closed the gap on Premier League leaders Liverpool to eight points.

They are second, six clear of Manchester City, and Rodgers is relaxed about Leicester’s place among the leaders.

He said: “I don’t think anyone expects us to be near the top. After Manchester United won at Manchester City on Saturday, the caption came up about how far City are away from Liverpool.

“We respect that, we get on with our work and keep developing as a team.

“It’s just natural, Man City and Liverpool are both incredible teams. We know we are looking to improve and close the gap. We have finished ninth in the last two seasons but today we looked like a top team.

“It was a real historic day, to surpass the club record of straight wins in the top flight was fantastic for us.”

Vardy, the Premier League’s top scorer with 16 goals, has netted 25 times since Rodgers’ first game in March, eight more than any other player in the top flight.

He has now struck in eight consecutive outings, three away from equalling his own Premier League record.

Rodgers added: “Jamie is such a top-level player, he is always ready when the chances come. I don’t think there’s any doubt he isn’t going to score.”

Vardy opened the scoring after 21 minutes and Iheanacho doubled the lead four minutes before the break.

Jack Grealish pulled a goal back in first-half stoppage time but Evans’ header soon restored Leicester’s two-goal advantage.

Vardy wrapped the game up with 15 minutes left while James Maddison had earlier hit the post and Tom Heaton kept the score down with saves from Caglar Soyuncu and Harvey Barnes.

Vardy has 16 Premier League goals this season (Mike Egerton/PA)

Villa, who hit the crossbar through Anwar El Ghazi at 0-0, are only out of the bottom three on goal difference.

Boss Dean Smith defended the decision to keep Tyrone Mings on ahead of Vardy’s opener after the centre-back suffered a hamstring injury.

“I thought immediately he pulled his hamstring, which is why I called for Bjorn Engels,” he said.

“He’s never had a muscle injury before and the message I got was he wanted to carry on and it might have been cramp.

Tyrone Mings suffered a hamstring injury and could miss the busy festive period (Mike Egerton/PA)

“He tells me he’s OK and unfortunately they score in that period.

“Goals change games. Anwar missed a chance but they had a couple before that.

“We won’t be the first or last to be beaten by Leicester. It was one of those games, Tom has kept the score down at the end. It could have ended up 8-4, such was the basketball nature of the game.”

amp_article__382203 : Database Data restored...  : 
last updated article - 2019-12-08 17:36:03:
html db last update - 2021-02-25 14:20:47 :

ex - 7200 : read : read cache amp html

Click here for more stories about Brendan Rodgers

Click here for more stories about Aston Villa

Share this article now:
Recommended Next on SM
Premier League Table
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Arsenal34245582265677
2Liverpool34228475344174
3Manchester CityMan City32227376324473
4Aston Villa34206871502166
5Tottenham HotspurSpurs32186865491660
6Manchester UnitedMan Utd33165125150153
7Newcastle UnitedNewcastle331551369541550
8West Ham UnitedWest Ham34139125463-948
9Chelsea32138116157447
10Bournemouth34129134960-1145
11Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton321111105250244
12Wolverhampton WanderersWolves34127154654-843
13Fulham34126165054-442
14Crystal Palace34109154456-1239
15Brentford3498175259-735
16Everton34118153648-1233
17Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest3479184260-1826
18Luton TownLuton3467214775-2825
19Burnley3458213769-3223
20Sheffield UnitedSheff Utd3437243392-5916
Scroll for more - Tap for full version


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
AL
Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!

Loading ...

Failed to load data.



. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .