Leicester fought back to draw 1-1 with Tottenham at the King Power Stadium on another iconic night for Jamie Vardy.
Here is what we made of events at the King Power Stadium.
Jamie Vardy’s having a party again
It just had to be him, didn’t it?
No player has been more synonymous with Leicester’s modern day history than Jamie Vardy, and the club captain had another night to remember as he scored yet another opening day Premier League goal.
Having declared himself fit after missing part of pre-season with injury, he stepped up when it mattered most, heading home an equaliser in the 57th minute that earned his side a great point.
Not only was it his eighth strike on opening days, it also made him the oldest scorer in Premier Leaguehistory for the Foxes at 37, and extended his stunning record of 104 goals in the league after the age of 30, which is the most in the post-1992 era.
Spurs left to rue missed chances
While Vardy had a night to remember, it was one to forget for Spurs and their strikers.
Dominic Solanke can be forgiven for not being fully in sync with his new teammates given he only joined from Bournemouth last week, but he did miss a few chances, and one right before Leicester equalised.
As for the player he replaced in the lineup, Richarlison, he missed a glorious opportunity to steal a win at the death when he got a free header in the box. He messed up his lines, however, and knew it as well, putting his head in his hands as the final whistle blew.
It was left to right-back Pedro Porro to score his side’s goal, which did make it goal contribution number 11 (four goals, seven assists) since he joined the North London club.
However, Spurs will need their main men up top to step up this season if they are to make a return to the Champions League through the league.
Ange Postecoglou echoed this view in his post-match interview, saying his team has to have a better mentality in the final third, especially given they utterly dominated in the first half.
Leicester show the fight they will need this season
This game should have been out of sight by half-time such was the one-sided nature of it.
However, Leicester stayed in the game through a combination of poor Spurs finishing and their own fight, with Wilfred Ndidi making a brilliant clearance to prevent a guaranteed goal early on before things picked up in the second half.
Vardy’s goal changed the entire mood of the game, and the massive switch in stats on either side of the break confirmed that.
The Foxes looked like relegation fodder in the first 45 minutes. It continued a summer of discontent with the club likely to face a points deduction for breaching FFP/PSR rules and struggling to make the signings needed to stay in the league as a result.
The last 30 to 35 minutes, though, were very encouraging for Steve Cooper in his first game in charge of the 2015/16 champions, and he’ll be further buoyed by the arrival of Oliver Skipp from tonight’s opponents.
More will be needed and Cooper said as much after the game. It will be a massive fight to stay up, but they eventually, and somehow, got off to a good start.
