Important to have different scorers: Brendan Rodgers
Vardy bags hat-trick against City but seven different Foxes have already found the net this season
Brendan Rodgers hailed Leicester City’s talisman Jamie Vardy after his hat-trick in a 5-2 win against Manchester City on Sunday (Sept 27), but has warned his side against relying too heavily on the English striker.
Vardy, 33, drilled in a pair of penalties either side of a deft back-heel finish, with James Maddison and Youri Tielemans also getting on the scoresheet as Leicester romped to victory at the Etihad Stadium.
Seven different players have found the net for the Foxes and Rodgers hopes that will continue over the course of the season.
“For me, it’s just having the possibility for numbers of players to score. Jamie’s the talisman up there at the top end of the field and gets his hat-trick, gets his goals,” Rodgers said.
“But we have other players that can score. You see Harvey Barnes today, how close he was on a few occasions.
“Maddison came into the game, scoring. And Youri showed great composure.
“All in all, it’s important to have various goalscorers. But of course, your guys at the top end of the field will always be up there to score.”
Meanwhile, Vardy said Leicester must show the consistency they lacked in last season’s home straight if they are to be top-four contenders again.
“The main thing was getting the three points and we have done that with a great performance. It’s only the start though. We have got to keep going and show that consistently,” Vardy told the BBC.
“The way we finished last season was not good enough, so we have to keep it going now.
“We tweaked it tactically today and knowing when we got the ball and played through their press we would get a few chances and we stuck them all away. We just had to keep believing.”
Leicester, who sent shockwaves around the football world when they won the English Premier League title in 2016, looked poised to finish in the top four last season before a poor run in the last third of the campaign cost them a Champions League berth.
They have made a flying start this term, notching three successive league wins and topping the standings with a superior goal difference to Everton. – REUTERS
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