Jamie Vardy’s assurances to Steve Cooper he was fit paid dividends as the veteran striker’s goal against the run of play earned Leicester a 1-1 draw with Tottenham.
Vardy, who did not play in a minute of the Foxes’ pre-season, had also been expected to miss their Premier League opener but promised manager Cooper he was able to play after the club was left with no other senior striker following an injury to Patson Daka.
“We didn’t have a striker,” Cooper told Sky Sports ahead of the game. “He said he feels good, he was a little bit uncomfortable that we didn’t have a fit striker and he made himself available.
“You have to trust his judgement.”
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Jamie Vardy scored a second-half equaliser for Leicester against Tottenham
That judgement proved sound at the King Power, as the 37-year-old rose to nod home an equaliser from the hosts’ first real chance of note 12 minutes after half-time from a fine Abdul Fatawu cross.
Until that point, Tottenham had been in full control, racking up more than 70 per cent of possession in the first half, conceding only one shot and taking a deserved lead through Pedro Porro’s smart finish from an equally inviting James Maddison cross.
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Pedro Porro had earlier given Spurs the lead at Leicester
But without a second-goal cushion and £65m summer arrival Dominic Solanke particularly guilty of spurning a number of chances, they were punished by Vardy and could have been again had Guglielmo Vicario not denied him a second with a sprawling stop.
Spurs’ evening went from bad to worse as Rodrigo Bentancur was stretchered off following an eight-minute stoppage, as they saw out the final minutes of an unwanted draw wondering how their first-half dominance had evaporated.
Carra: Criminal that Spurs didn’t win
Having been in such control up until the interval, Spurs’ capitulation was labelled “criminal” by Jamie Carragher after they failed to win their opening game for the second season in a row.
“They were so in control of that game,” he said on Monday Night Football. “Ange Postecoglou has taken Tottenham back to what we always associated with Tottenham and a lot of that is good – attacking play, great on the eye.
“But you always feel like they can let you down and concede a goal. When you are so dominant in a game, to not come away with three points is criminal really considering the opposition they were up against, a promoted team.”
Is Vardy Leicester’s greatest-ever player?
Both Gary Neville and Carragher focused on the performance and longevity of Vardy, who scored on the opening weekend of a Premier League season for the eighth time with his equalising goal.
Vardy is far ahead as the division’s all-time top goalscorer by players in their 30s, having netted 19 more than even the Premier League’s top goalscorer Alan Shearer.
Neville said: “I loved him when he first came into the Premier League, the idea of this non-League mentality player, he was a throwback.
“I did think though he’d be a player who relied completely on his pace, running off the shoulder and counter-attacking. And when he lost his pace, lost a yard, he’d find it difficult to adapt his game, as many others have.
“But he’s still going at 37. He’s still got that burst, that yard. He looks so fit and looks like he hasn’t put a pound on.
“Usually the bones start to creak a little bit, training becomes a lot more difficult, getting out there and keeping that weight off. Well done to him, and well done to Steve Cooper for taking a chance on playing him.”
Carragher added: “I would imagine he’s Leicester’s greatest-ever player. He’s got to be very close, when you think about what he’s achieved and where he’s come from. He’s a special footballer.”
