Vardy first player to break 100-point barrier after penalty incident

Brighton & Hove Albion 0-2 Leicester City

• Goals: Ayoze Perez (£6.2m), Jamie Vardy (£9.7m)
• Assists: Vardy, Demarai Gray (£5.2m)
• Bonus Points:  Vardy x3,  Ben Chilwell (£5.8m) x2,  Ricardo Pereira (£6.4m) x1

Jamie Vardy (£9.7m) has gone clear at the top of Fantasy Premier League scoring charts after a remarkable penalty incident in Saturday’s 2-0 win over Brighton.

Having set up Ayoze Perez (£6.2m) for Leicester’s second-half opener on 64 minutes, Vardy had the chance to seal the win from the spot after a foul on Demarai Gray (£5.2m).

The striker saw his initial effort saved by Mat Ryan (£4.7m) before James Maddison (£7.5m) nodded in the rebound. However, the penalty had to be re-taken due to encroachment into the area by players from both teams.

Vardy made no mistake the second time around, slotting home his 12th goal of the season to lead the FPL charts on 104 points after 13 Gameweeks.

“It was good. We knew it would be tough. At half time we knew we’d played quite well with Brighton coming into the game a bit in the last 10 minutes. Second half we came out the blocks a bit slow but as the game went on, we progressed. It really is enjoyable at the moment. I’ve always been one to say that when you’re enjoying your football, that’s when you play your best stuff. The best way to enjoy your football is to win games.” – Jamie Vardy

As the Leicester forward alluded to, the Foxes created the better opportunities in the first half. Perez hit the bar with a header after just a minute before Vardy saw Ryan tip over his headed effort from a Ben Chilwell (£5.8m) free-kick.

Harvey Barnes (£5.9m) saw an effort from just outside the box also saved by the Australian keeper after good work from Perez. Ryan could have landed a relatively huge haul for his owners had his penalty save stood, having picked up two save points from his seven stops.

Barnes then skied an effort inside the box after being picked out by Vardy, who had won a tussle near the touchline with pre-match injury doubt Adam Webster (£4.4m).

Just seconds later, in the 34th minute, Shane Duffy’s (£4.9m) attempted clearance fell to Perez in the area but the ex-Newcastle man also failed to hit the target.

Brighton’s Irish centre-half then had a great opportunity to put a header on target from close range but the ball skidded off his head in slippery conditions at a rainy Amex Stadium. Duffy will resume a fight for his place in Gameweek 14, with Lewis Dunk (£4.6m) returning from a one-match ban.

Before half-time, a trademark Maddison through-ball put Vardy clear down the right-hand side of the box but surprisingly, his chip went left of the far post as Ryan smartly closed down the angle for the Foxes hitman.

The Seagulls flew out of the traps in the second half, with Neal Maupay (£6.0m) going closest in an opening ten minutes that saw Leicester put under real pressure. Leandro Trossard (£5.8m), in particular, caused all sorts of problems for Brendan Rodgers’ backline.

However, for all of their endeavour, Graham Potter’s men failed to hit the target with any of their seven attempts. And crucially, Brighton’s domination of possession in the second half paved the way for several Leicester counter-attacks.

Vardy did the hard work for Leicester’s opener, racing down the right flank before intelligently delaying his cut-back for Perez. Once his team-mate had made it back onside, the striker slid the ball across for the Spaniard to slot past Ryan from close range.

The heavily-involved Vardy then shot straight at Ryan after an excellent Chilwell cross, before the striker opted to square for Maddison despite having had a shooting angle himself. The England midfielder failed to connect with Vardy’s pass as Leicester could not put Brighton to the sword.

In between those two Leicester counter-attacks, Duffy had another opportunity but Brighton’s inaccuracy proved costly.

In an end-to-end second half, Caglar Soyuncu (£4.9m) denied Maupay before Barnes went close once more at the other end.

Then came the VAR review of Vardy’s missed penalty, with the striker thankful that Brighton players – along with Maddison – had begun dashing into the area slightly early. His conversion at the second time of asking saw the winner of the Gameweek 13 captain poll deliver a 12-point haul for his owners.

Jonny Evans (£5.1m) managed 61 minutes for his 3.0% ownership base before leaving the field with what appeared to be an injury. However, The Athletic’s Leicester correspondent Rob Tanner has confirmed that the Northern Ireland international was just suffering with cramp.

Rodgers’ post-match comments suggest Evans owners can count themselves lucky that the defender lasted until the magic 60-minute mark.

“He just seized up. He’s 31 now. He’d hardly trained all week. He just had cramp all over his body, in his calves and he couldn’t move. That’s just through everything that happened with him being in hospital, all the morphine, everything he was on. He’d only had light sessions on Thursday and Friday, so he’s done great to play as much as has.” – Brendan Rodgers

Without their key centre-half, the Foxes went on to record their sixth clean sheet of the season – no other Premier League club has as many.

Rodgers also praised his players for performing so well on the back of an international break.

“It was a brilliant win for us. We knew before the game that this was going to be a real examination. Brighton are really strong at home and they have a really good football idea. And on the back of an international break where your players are only coming back on Thursday, you may not be at your most fluent.

“But the performance was very good. We started well. Up to the first 30 minutes, we could have been a couple in front. Ayo hit the bar early and Jamie has a header where the keeper makes a great save. Then we threatened.

“They started really well in the second half and then you’re tested. In the Premier League, you’re never going to – particularly away from home – have it all your own way. We had to be resilient in that period. We scored a great goal on the counter-attack. From that moment, we showed a real confidence to score another goal and maybe have a few more.” – Brendan Rodgers

Leicester City XI (4-1-4-1): Schmeichel; Chilwell, Evans, Soyuncu, Pereira; Ndidi; Barnes, Maddison, Tielemans, Perez; Vardy.

Brighton & Hove Albion XI (4-2-2-2): Ryan; Burn, Duffy, Webster, Montoya; March, Stephens, Propper, Mooy; Trossard, Maupay.

MEMBERS ANALYSIS

Gameweek 13 – FPL Match Reports

• West Ham United 2-3 Tottenham Hotspur
• Arsenal 2-2 Southampton
• AFC Bournemouth 1-2 Wolverhampton Wanderers
• Brighton & Hove Albion 0-2 Leicester City
• Crystal Palace 1-2 Liverpool
• Everton 0-2 Norwich City
• Watford 0-3 Burnley
• Manchester City 2-1 Chelsea
• Sheffield United 3-3 Manchester United
• Aston Villa 2-0 Newcastle United

Nominated for ‘Best in Fantasy Football – Editorial’ at the Football Content Awards 2020

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