Jamie Vardy still knows how to score in the Premier League.
The 37-year-old striker rescued a point for Leicester in its return to the Premier League on Monday by heading home a second-half equalizer in a 1-1 draw against Tottenham, which had largely dominated the first half.
Tottenham had plenty of opportunities to build a bigger lead but new signing Dominic Solanke was among those guilty of missing chances.
Instead it was Spanish defender Pedro Porro who made Tottenham’s early superiority count after 29 minutes when he got between two Leicester defenders to head James Maddison’s cross into the net at the far post.
But Vardy, who was key to Leicester’s stunning Premier League title win in 2016 and has remained with the club since then, was left unmarked to head home an equalizer.
A corner count of 9-0 gave some indication of Spurs’ dominance in the first half but Vardy’s goal changed the game completely.
Steve Cooper’s team suddenly looked a lot livelier and both teams had chances to win in a busy last half hour.
“Tottenham are a really good team but we gave them too much respect, and we started getting after them and it changed the momentum,” Vardy told Sky Sports.
Vardy spurned a good chance in the 70th minute when he was able to run clear on goal but his low shot was saved by Guglielmo Vicario. At the other end, Richarlison sent a header wide deep into injury time with the last chance of the match.
“It is a disappointing night for us,” Tottenham manager Ange Postecoglou said. “We need to be more ruthless in front of goal. We were that dominant, we should have been well away from the opposition. To be that wasteful tonight when we had so much of the ball and territory, it is disappointing.”
The game was halted for eight minutes late in the second half after Tottenham midfielder Rodrigo Bentancur sustained a head injury. The Uruguayan received oxygen and taken off on a stretcher, but Postecoglou said he was “conscious and communicating.”
Vardy scores on Premier League return as Leicester holds Tottenham to 1-1 draw
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Vardy scores on Premier League return as Leicester holds Tottenham to 1-1 draw
Alonso fears more pain in China with struggling Aston Martin
- Fernando Alonso said Thursday he expects another difficult weekend wrestling with his new Aston Martin at the Chinese Grand Prix after failing to finish the season-opener in Australia
SHANGHAI: Fernando Alonso said Thursday he expects another difficult weekend wrestling with his new Aston Martin at the Chinese Grand Prix after failing to finish the season-opener in Australia.
Silverstone-based Aston Martin endured a horror start after serious issues with their Honda power unit and a lack of spare parts.
Two-time world champion Alonso and teammate Lance Stroll had to endure extreme vibration in the chassis caused by the power unit, which was feared could cause the drivers permanent nerve damage.
“The situation unfortunately didn’t change within four or five days since Melbourne, so it will be a difficult weekend,” Alonso told reporters at the Shanghai International Circuit.
“We’ll limit the laps in one or two sessions as we are short on parts. We need laps, to find the window on the chassis side.
“I’ll be happy if we leave China with a more or less normal practice, more or less normal qualifying.”
The Spaniard could not put a timeframe on when improvements might come.
“What can I do within the team? Work harder, help Honda as much as I can,” said Alonso.
“We can allocate resources to help Honda with the power unit. We are one team, it is a bumpy start that I hope won’t last too long.
“We are pushing, we have very talented people in the team, so I hope within a couple of grands prix, we can have a normal weekend.
“To be competitive will take more time. Once we fix the reliability, we will be behind on power and things.”
The 44-year-old veteran has been in Formula One for more than two decades and has driven vastly different iterations of cars from the old V10 petrol engines through to the current complex hybrid configuration.
Despite the issues he said was embracing the challenge of the new cars enthusiastically in what could be his final season on the grid.
His Aston Martin contract expires at the end of 2026.
“Do we enjoy driving these cars? Yes, because we love racing,” Alonso said.
“I do four or five 24-hour races because I love racing and I love driving. So if you jump into an F1 car, you enjoy going fast.
“But it is a challenge, a different challenge.
“I was super lucky to race in (the last) era and I feel lucky to race in both.”
