Manchester City 2-5 Leicester: player ratings, Vardy’s on fire!

Wingbacks and midfield

Timothy Castagne- 9

What a signing this man is turning out to be. Was a constant menace in attack down the right hand side, while doing his fair bit tracking back to assist the defence. He’s looking like an absolute asset to Leicester City and I’m excited to see more of him.

James Justin- 6

Definitely looked shaky in the first half of the game and appeared to be a constant target of Manchester City’s overlaps. Could have down better to clear the cross that lead to the home side’s first goal and should have scored when Vardy teed him up in the 26th minute. Despite this, the U-21 England international grew in confidence in the second half and put in a solid performance.

Nampalys Mendy- 8

A frequent scapegoat of the Foxes’ failures, the Frenchman proved his doubters wrong with a dependable performance in midfield. Deserves more credit for the first goal, after some fine footwork saw him release the ball to Harvey Barnes. The lack of height and physical presence compared to Wilfred Ndidi was noticeable, however.

Youri Tielemans- 9

An outside shout for man-of-the-match. The Belgian put in one of his finest performances in a Leicester City shirt and showed why he’s their record signing. Controlled the midfield and constantly tested Manchester City’s high line with perfectly weighted through balls. Left no doubt on the penalty.

Dennis Praet- 8

Much like his compatriot Tielemans, had a fine game in midfield with some excellent long balls but didn’t quite pull a masterclass. Replaced by Maddison in the 69th minute.

Forwards and substitutes

Harvey Barnes- 5

Operating in an unfamiliar striker role, found acres of space on the lefthand side numerous times but didn’t seem to have the beating of Kyle Walker and Eric García with pace or footwork. Got a chance at goal later in the game but hit it straight down Ederson’s throat.

Jamie Vardy- 10 (MOTM)

Nothing short of a world-class performance. It’s hard to believe he’s 33 years old. Latched onto Tielemans and Praet’s through balls and stretched Manchester City’s high line. Drew and scored two pens (fairly, might I add), scored an outrageous back-heel finish and could have had an assist too. His hat-trick today made in 9 in 10 against City, and he only took 15 touches to do it. What’s more, only three hat-tricks have been scored against a Guardiola side and two of them have been by Vardy. The other? Lionel Messi.

James Maddison- 8

Following up on his cameo appearance in the Carabao Cup, Maddison looked sharper than ever on his return to Premier League football. In just 25 minutes on the pitch, he was able to bag a veritable screamer and draw the pen for the final goal of the game. Will really be pushing Praet and Tielemans to regain his place in the starting XI now he’s fit again.

Christian Fuchs- N/A

Came on for Jonny Evans due to injury and didn’t have much to do.

Kelechi Iheanacho- N/A

Subbed on for Vardy in the 85th minute and didn’t really have long enough to impact the game.