Leicester City 1 Wolverhampton Wanderers 0
Jamie Vardy scored a penalty and missed another as Leicester edged past Wolves and demonstrated their intention to hang around the top of the table. Brendan Rodgers’s side dominated the first half against their Midlands rivals but required a contentious spot kick to take the lead, with Vardy scoring after Max Kilman was penalised for handball.
There was no debate about Leicester’s second penalty, which was awarded for a foul on the excellent James Justin, but Rui Patrício turned away Vardy’s poor effort. Wolves could not do enough at the other end to make that matter.
The early stages suggested this match was destined to end like last season’s two scoreless draws between the sides. It looked like that might be the summit of Wolves’ ambitions as the visitors began with extreme caution.
It was clear Leicester would need something special to prise them open. In James Maddison, Youri Tielemans and Dennis Praet they have players capable of summoning magic but, as it turned out, their breakthrough came courtesy of the bureaucrats who have imposed the most pernickety possible interpretation of the handball law: Leicester were awarded a penalty in the 13th minute after the ball struck Kilman’s arm after Praet whacked a cross at him from five yards away. Referee Anthony Taylor consulted the pitchside screen and decided that a spot kick was the mandatory punishment for an offence the defender had not intended and could not have prevented.
Another infuriating judgment, then, for Wolves, who had two goals chalked off against Leicester last season following VAR reviews. Vardy granted no clemency, sending Rui Patrício the wrong way from the spot. Miffed though they were, Wolves did not take their anger out on their opponents and remained meek visitors, hedeghogs with no quills.
Vardy could have scored a second goal in the 20th minute but failed to connect with a delicious cross from the right by Praet. Leicester, much brighter and sharper, went close again in the 32nd minute, when Christian Fuchs joined in a snazzy move and rifled a low shot wide from 20 yards.
The hosts’ superiority was summed up in the 38th minute when they earned a second penalty, Justin pouncing on miscontrol by Rayan Aït-Noui, whose hasty attempt to make amends led to him fouling the Leicester man. This time, however, Vardy was not so deadly from the spot, his shot down the middle allowing Patrício to save with his trailing legs.
That reprieve stoked Wolves into life. They started to pass with more pace and precision and spent the last few minutes of the first half applying belated pressure on the hosts. But nearly an hour had elapsed before they forced Kasper Schmeichel into a difficult save, Pedro Neto bringing a decent stop from the goalkeeper with a drive from the edge of the box after intricate work by Daniel Podence. The goalkeeper would have been in deeper peril a couple of minutes before that if the superb Wesley Fofana had not intercepted an inviting cross by Nelson Semedo.
Despite their improvement, Wolves were still not showing enough menace to justify the continued absence of Adama Traoré, who began on the bench for the fifth match in a row. He was introduced after an hour and immediately set Leicester’s defenders a scary new challenge, winning a corner with his first storming run down the right.
As Wolves made Leicester drop deeper, Rodgers cast on his own version of Traoré, namely Harvey Barnes, who hoped to exploit the space Wolves now had to leave behind their defence. Leicester’s meanwhile, still had to cope with Traoré, whose piercing runs and crosses began to spread panic. The Spain international was involved in the move in the 77th minute that led to Rúben Neves arrowing a shot towards the top corner from the edge of the box. Schmeichel did brilliantly to swat it away. Moments later Leander Dendoncker dabbed a shot wide from eight yards after being allowed to meet a cross from the left.
Rodgers replaced Praet with a defender, Wes Morgan, to ensure Leicester held on for a precious win. Barnes very nearly made the margin of victory bigger after fine service by Justin, but Kilman got a crucial touch to deflect the forwards shot from eight yards over the bar. – Guardian
