FoL’s 3 favourite Leicester City goals of the King Power era
By Will Kennedy
Jamie Vardy, Leicester City vs Manchester United (5-3) – September 2014
Perhaps the most controversial pick here, Jamie Vardy’s goal certainly isn’t a visually stunning strike like the other two on this list, but this goal is more about what it symbolised. Fresh from winning the Championship, newly promoted Leicester City took on a Manchester United side filled with superstars.
Rooney, Van Persie, Di Maria, and Falcao all started in a terrifying attacking line-up named by Louis van Gaal. From the offset they were clear favourites for the game.
This was only confirmed when United scored two goals in the space of three minutes, including and exceptional chipped finish from Di Maria. Ulloa’s bullet header kept the game open for Leicester at half time, with the score 2-1. United’s third looked to have killed the game off, but Nugent’s cool penalty, and an iconic goal from the Esteban Cambiasso, levelled the game at 3-3.
It was then, that the magic really kicked in. Until this point, Jamie Vardy had struggled in front of goal in the Premier League and, at times, looked a fish out of water. It had only been a few years since Leicester gambled £1m on the non-league striker. But against Manchester United, Vardy was relentless.
Richie de Laet’s through ball found Vardy as the United defence were lost at sea. It left a one-on-one with David de Gea and, with all the weight and pressure of Leicestershire on his back, Vardy coolly slotted the ball past the Spaniard.
At that point the King Power erupted, and the Premier League was well and truly introduced to Jamie Vardy and his – at that point – questionable hair-do. It was his first goal in the Premier League. His first – as of writing – of 127, putting him as joint 14th highest scorer in Premier League history.
Vardy’s goal not only encompasses the arrival of the Sheffield-born striker, but it personifies the arrival of Leicester back to the top-flight of English football. The result garnered headlines, but it was only a small preview of what was yet to come.