Leicester City: Jamie Vardy slammed for opening weekend showing

Leicester City were disappointingly held to a 2-2 draw at the King Power Stadium on Sunday – and Jamie Vardy was the target of some criticism.

The Foxes eventually took the lead after dominating the first half when Timothy Castagne headed past David Raya in the Brentford goal.

Youri Tielemans also hit the post in the first period, but less than 30 seconds after half-time, Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall doubled the lead.

However, the Bees still had a sting in their tail and responded through Ivan Toney after the hour mark.

Toney and Wesley Fofana then traded chances with the Leicester defender heading against the upright but Josh Dasilva carved out the equaliser on 86 minutes as Brendan Rodgers was made to settle for a point.

Writing for the Leicester Mercury after the game, journalist Jordan Blackwell handed Vardy a team-low 4/10 match rating for his performance and gave the following comment:

“His touch was not sharp enough and his runs not quite subtle enough to escape the attention of the Brentford defenders. It meant it was a rare opening day where he didn’t look a threat at all.”

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As could perhaps be expected, the former England international did look rusty on the opening weekend, and alongside his strike partner Patson Daka, couldn’t get into the game as he managed just 22 touches (SofaScore) – although one of those was a lay-off for Dewsbury-Hall who thundered the ball home from all of 30 yards. 

However, Vardy failed to manage a shot of any kind himself and lost possession eight times, winning three of his seven duels. 

Even at 35, you would expect the striker to play a huge part for the Foxes this season considering only James Maddison scored more goals than he did in all competitions last season, and supporters will be hoping he quickly blows off the cobwebs.