Jamie Vardy came off the bench to earn Championship leaders Leicester their first victory in three matches, scoring twice in a 2-0 win over Watford.
It had looked like being a half of frustration for the former Premier League Golden Boot winner, after he somehow missed an open goal from four yards out in the 74th minute.
But he called on all of his experience to make sure he was in the right spot just two minutes later to score from close range after Jannik Vestergaard’s header had been parried by Watford goalkeeper Daniel Bachmann.
Vardy then sealed the game three minutes into stoppage time when he was brought down by Bachmann as the Leicester striker raced into the penalty area.
It was a challenge that earned the goalkeeper a second yellow card as he had been booked 10 minutes earlier. Vardy took the spot-kick himself and converted it decisively as defender Ryan Porteus took over in goal.
The result eased the tension among the home fans after Enzo Maresca’s side had failed to score in their previous two games. But, the longer the match went on, the more likely Leicester were to score, and so it proved.
Watford had been content to soak up Leicester’s pressure and try to catch them on the break.
Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall was City’s biggest threat throughout. After 10 minutes, he found space on the left and delivered a cross into the six-yard box, but none of his team-mates could get on to the end of it as Watford cleared their lines.
Dewsbury-Hall came close in the 29th minute after Kasey McAteer tapped a free-kick to him. The Leicester midfielder shot from 20 yards out, but his effort flew just wide.
Just before half-time, Dewsbury-Hall delivered a cross to the far post but Bachmann smothered McAteer’s chance on the goal-line.
Kelechi Iheanacho picked out Stephy Mavididi after 52 minutes, but his first-time shot only found the side netting, with the Leicester forward clearly annoyed with himself for failing to take advantage of the opening.
Maresca decided to make changes up front, introducing Vardy and Abdul Fatawu as substitutes. But when the two combined to create an opening, Vardy blazed his shot over the bar.
Again, Dewsbury-Hall came close to breaking the deadlock with 20 minutes to go when he turned Ryan Andrews in the Watford area, only to see his left-foot shot strike the near post.
Leicester launched a series of attacks and defender Vestergaard’s header landed on the roof of the net from Ricardo Pereira’s cross.
Vardy missed a clear chance after Mavididi’s run carved out the chance but the former England striker made up for that just minutes later though when Leicester finally got the goal they deserved.
That forced Watford to look for an equaliser and Porteus brought a save from Leicester goalkeeper Mads Hermansen with the visitors’ only shot on target.
Hurtig the hero after late goal sends Arsenal into Champions League quarters
Lina Hurtig's 89th minute winner ensured Arsenal progressed to the quarter-finals of the Women's Champions League after edging Juventus 1-0 on Thursday.
After being frustrated for large parts of the encounter, Hurtig bundled home from close range after Martina Lenzini's poor clearance to book the Gunners' place in the last eight.
Despite Arsenal dominating the early exchanges, it was Juventus who had the first sight of goal, though Eva Schatzer's effort was easy for Daphne van Domselaar to gather.
In a first half that saw just two shots on target, both coming from the visitors, Renee Slegers' substitutes proved to be the difference for Arsenal.
Slegers introduced Beth Mead, Stina Blackstenius and Hurtig late on, with the latter somehow putting Kim Little's cross over the bar from five yards out.
However, the Swede would atone for her earlier error, combining with fellow substitute Blackstenius to net against her former club and send them out of the competition with two group games remaining.
Meanwhile, in Group D, Barcelona edged closer to the quarter-finals of the competition with a convincing 4-1 victory over St. Polten at the Generali Arena.
The reigning champions are still three points behind Manchester City following their 2-1 win over Hammarby, and know a win against the Swedes next month will see them progress.
Kika Nazareth opened the scoring in the 20th minute after capitalising on a mistake by Kamila Dubcova, notching her second nine minutes later from close range.
Barca found themselves three goals up at the break when Vicky Lopez netted her first goal in the competition to put the result beyond doubt.
There was also a landmark moment for Alexia Putellas, who netted her 200th goal for the club with a well-taken effort into the far corner.
Valentina Madl took some of the shine off an otherwise impressive display from the visitors, who have now taken their tally to 20 goals from their four matches in the competition.
Guardiola agrees two-year contract extension with Man City
Pep Guardiola will be Manchester City manager for at least two more seasons after 2024-25, after he signed a two-year contract extension on Thursday.
The 53-year-old was coming to the end of his City deal, which was due to expire at the end of the current campaign, but he has opted to remain at the Etihad Stadium.
The deal itself will take Guardiola's tenure at the club to over a decade, making him City's longest-serving manager since Les McDowall in 1963.
There had been suggestions that he may leave at the end of the season following the announcement that director of football Txiki Begiristain was on his way out.
Guardiola was strongly linked with the England job after Gareth Southgate resigned in the wake of their Euro 2024 final defeat, but the Football Association appointed Thomas Tuchel last month.
“Manchester City means so much to me," Guardiola said. “This is my ninth season here; we have experienced so many amazing times together. I have a really special feeling for this football club.
“That is why I am so happy to be staying for another two more seasons.
“Thank you to everyone for continuing to trust and support me – The Owner, The Chairman Khaldoon, Ferran, Txiki, the players and, of course, the fans… everyone connected to Manchester City. It has always been an honour, a pleasure and a privilege to be here.
“I have said this many times before, but I have everything a manager could ever wish for, and I appreciate that so much.
“Hopefully, now we can add more trophies to the ones we have already won. That will be my focus.”
Having been appointed in 2016, Guardiola is by some distance Manchester City's most successful manager of all time, having won 18 major trophies during his time at the club.
That list includes their first-ever Champions League triumph in 2023 and six Premier League titles, including an unprecedented four on the spin.
He also boasts a 72.04% win percentage across all competitions, which is unsurprisingly the highest of any full-time City manager in history.
Shaw at the double as Man City progress in Champions League
Khadija Shaw scored twice as Manchester City beat Hammarby 2-1 to seal their place in the Women's Champions League quarter-finals.
Gareth Taylor's team entered Thursday's game with a perfect record in Group D, and their fourth win in as many European matches ensured they finished in the top two.
Shaw—the leading scorer in the Women's Super League this season with eight goals—put them ahead in the 31st minute, driving into the area after taking in Yui Hasegawa's pass before seeing her shot deflect into the top corner.
Shaw was booked for celebrating in front of the home fans despite appearing to have objects thrown at her from the stands, and Hammarby should have levelled when Julia Blakstad fired wide 10 minutes later.
The hosts did draw level three minutes into the second half as Ellen Wangerheim tapped home while City's Laura Blindkilde Brown was down appealing for a free-kick.
That parity was short-lived, though, as Shaw blasted into the top corner from 25 yards out, taking her overall tally for this season to 12 goals in all competitions.
In Group C, meanwhile, Bayern Munich lost their perfect record as they played out a 1-1 draw with Valerenga, boosting Arsenal's hopes of topping the pile.
Jovana Damnjanovic came off the bench to put Bayern ahead 15 minutes from time in Norway, but Elise Thorsnes headed home following an 88th-minute corner to snatch a point for the hosts.
Arsenal could now move within a point of Bayern when they face Juventus in Group C's other match later on Thursday.
SportsMax is the Caribbean sports channel of choice, committed to providing sporting content of the highest quality to the Caribbean, delivered by a team of highly innovative, passionate and qualified professionals.
(876) 619-7629
digitalmedia@sportsmax.tv
