Vardy exposes Postecoglou’s familiar problem
Vardy may be 37 years of age, but the very sight of the Foxes poacher inside the box must terrify Tottenham. After bagging eight goals against them in his prime, he returned to haunt them again with his second-half equaliser.
When Bobby De Cordova-Reid’s cross flew through to the other side, Cristian Romero jogged back into position. But he was completely oblivious that Vardy was behind him – and the Argentinian’s lapse in concentration proved to be damaging, as the veteran striker headed home the resulting cross.
If Tottenham are to become a force in English football, tightening up at the back will be a crucial factor in their progress. Postecoglou’s men conceded 61 goals in the league last season and too often were caught naively up the pitch.
Teams learned how to play against their high line and learned how to find the space in their defensive third. As Vardy highlighted by ghosting in unmarked at the far post, there appears to be some serious work to do on the training ground to improve their positioning after poor marking for the goal.
Maddison silences booing fans
On his first trip back to the King Power since his £40million switch to Spurs 13 months ago, Maddison earned a frosty reception from the fans who clearly felt abandoned by the player they helped chisel into an England international.
But ultimately, the bragging rights would go to Maddison, who looked increasingly fired up with every boo that emanated from the stands when got a touch of the ball. He was at the centre of everything Spurs did in the opening 15 minutes as they attacked at will.
Then he swung in a fine cross for Porro to head home and the celebration told you everything you needed to know: he knew he had a point to prove – and the midfielder silenced his critics.
When his number came up on the board, Leicester fans jeered in irony. But Maddison began clapping and they responded too, proving positivity can often drown out the negativity shown by a few silly fans.
No Solanke debut delight
Having signed from Bournemouth in a club-record deal, the pressure would be on Solanke to deliver from the off. Was his 19-goal return a one-off, or could he really start banging in the goals similar to Harry Kane?
It started on a promising note, with Solanke at the far post ready to tap home from Porro’s flick-on only for Fatawu to somehow pull off an acrobatic clearance off the line.
The £65m man didn’t waste any time in trying to open his Spurs account after that and had two good attempts at goal saved by Mads Hermansen.
But otherwise, it was a quiet debut for the 26-year-old, who found himself isolated up front as Leicester turned the game on its head.
Bentancur injury raises fears
Spurs were forced to use their concussion substitute as per Premier League protocols after Bentancur was knocked out cold and stretchered off. The concern on the faces of the players was evident as they feared the worst, but Postecoglou has even more issues to contend with.
Bissouma is not currently in the first-team picture after being suspended for allegedly inhaling laughing gas. With Bentancur certainly out of the next game, Postecoglou no longer has Oliver Skipp to rely on having sold him to the Foxes. It leaves him with Pape Matar Sarr and Archie Gray as his only fit centre midfielders, and the latter is still only 18.
With that in mind, it wouldn’t be a huge surprise if the club made one more signing this summer to add some depth after being left light following Skipp’s departure.