Jamie Vardy’s perhaps inevitable goal on his final appearance for Leicester City has given the Foxes a 1-0 half-time lead over the Blues at the King Power Stadium.
Town boss Kieran McKenna made four changes from the team which lost 1-0 at home to Brentford last week with George Hirst, Leif Davis, Jens Cajuste and Jack Clarke returning to the XI.
Hirst came in as the number nine with Liam Delap dropping to the bench, while Davis was back after his three-match ban at left-back with Jacob Greaves moving into the centre and Cameron Burgess out of the squad.
Jens Cajuste returned to the midfield having been managing his ongoing knee injury in recent weeks with Jack Taylor among the subs.
Clarke was on the left of the trio behind Hirst with Conor Chaplin dropping to the bench and Julio Enciso switching to the middle. Nathan Broadhead was among the subs following his spell out with a thigh injury.
Leicester made one change with Boubakary Soumare replacing Oliver Skipp in their midfield.
Jamie Vardy started his 500th and final game for the club looking for his 200th goal and fans all round the ground waved flags bearing the legend ‘Thank you Vards’ for some minutes prior to the teams coming out, the 38-year-old former striker leading out the Foxes.
The Blues, in their pink third kit, were the first to threaten in the third minute, Dara O’Shea dinking a ball over the top from deep for Hirst to chase and the Scotland international only just failed to get his toe to it before it ran through to Jakub Stolarczyk in the home goal.
Four minutes later, skipper Sam Morsy fed Enciso, who moved it on to Davis in space on the left. The full-back, whose only Premier League goal came against Leicester at Portman Road, saw his first shot blocked, then, after the ball returned to him, struck an even better effort which cannoned off the inside of the near post and ricocheted across goal and out for a throw on the far side.
Town continued to take the game to the Foxes and in the ninth minute Morsy unleashed a 30-yard strike which flew not too far over Stolarczyk’s bar.
On 17, Enciso worked an opening a few yards outside the box but scraped his shot wide of Stolarczyk’s left post.
After Omari Hutchinson had had his ankle inadvertently and painfully trodden on by Luke Thomas after being brought down by the Leicester wideman, Hirst flicked a header from Morsy’s free-kick beyond the far post.
Vardy had been a largely peripheral figure, Leicester having failed to mount a serious attack, but in the 20th minute Jordan Ayew threaded a pass for him to chase. O’Shea dived in but made no contact with either ball or player, but, with Vardy through on goal, Davis did exceptionally well to get back and drive him wide and his shot hit the side-netting.
Two minutes later, a Bilal El Khannouss free-kick from the right was played into Vardy’s feet in the box with his back to goal but the Foxes’ skipper’s shot was into the netting on the other side of the goal.
Town had been the more threatening side, however, and in the 26th minute they went close again. Davis curled over a deep cross from the left beyond Hirst but found Hutchinson behind him, the former Chelsea man volleying over.
The Blues were made to rue their misses two minutes later when Vardy bagged his 200th goal for the Foxes.
After Clarke had slipped when in possession midway inside the Leicester half, the home side broke and James Justin played in the day’s main man, who wrong-footed Alex Palmer with his deft first-time finish across the keeper and into the net.
Vardy celebrated by waving a corner flag at the delighted home supporters before being joined by all his teammates right in front of the Town supporters.
The goal seemed to rock the Blues, who until then had been on top for the most part, and within a minute Ayew waltzed into the area unchallenged, his shot scuffing off O’Shea and going wide, a fortunate escape for Town.
As the half approached the 40-minute mark, Hutchinson crossed from the right and O’Shea’s header caught a defender and looped wide.
The corner came to nothing but two minutes later, Davis, far more involved in attack than almost any game this season, got to the byline and chipped over a cross which reached Hutchinson 10 yards out. The England U21 international chested it down, then volleyed over the bar when he should have been celebrating his fourth goal of the season.
That was the last serious action of a half in which the Blues had been the better side and had had enough chances to put themselves in front prior to Vardy’s goal, Davis having been unlucky to hit the post, while Hutchinson’s late opportunity really should have got them back on terms. As so often this season the Blues had been unable to make the most of their opportunities with Stolarczyk not forced into a serious save.
At the other end, Vardy had had one chance before his goal but other than that and Ayew’s effort immediately after the Foxes had taken the lead, the Blues had limited the home side.
Leicester: Stolarczyk, Justin, Faes, Coady, Thomas, Ndidi, Soumare, El Khannouss, McAteer, Ayew, Vardy. Subs: Iversen, Ricardo, Okoli, Kristianesen, Skipp, Buonanotte, Monga, Evans.
Town: Palmer, Tuanzebe, O’Shea, Greaves, Davis, Morsy (c), Cajuste, Hutchinson, Enciso, J Clarke, Hirst. Subs: Walton, Woolfenden, Godfrey, Johnson, Luongo, Taylor, Chaplin, Broadhead, Delap. Referee: Andrew Kitchen (Durham). VAR: Neil Davies.