Leicester manager Enzo Maresca praised Jamie Vardy’s character after the former England striker missed an open goal before scoring twice to earn the Championship leaders a 2-0 win over Watford.
Vardy came off the bench to lift a Leicester side that had been struggling to break down Watford, who had been heading for a point after a stubborn display.
But it did not look like being Vardy’s day as he sent one opportunity over the bar, before missing again from four yards out.
Vardy refused to let the misses get to him though and he opened the scoring just two minutes later after Watford goalkeeper Daniel Bachmann had parried Jannick Vestergaard’s header.
In the third minute of stoppage time, Vardy sealed the points when he was brought down in the penalty area by Bachmann, who was shown a second yellow card by referee Sam Allison.
Defender Ryan Porteus had to go in goal and he could do nothing to prevent Vardy converting the spot-kick as he found the net for the first time since early October.
“You can miss, miss, miss, but in the end, you want to find a goal,” said Maresca, who saw his side win for the first time in three games.
“Jamie’s scored goals all his life and he will continue to do that. It’s in his blood.
“This is the reason why he’s Jamie Vardy. He’s scored more than 100 goals in the Premier League.
“You have to be there, to miss a chance and he was there again to score. That was the most important thing.
“The best thing for me, as a manager, is to take Jamie as an example – the way he behaved and showed he’s a leader and how he wants to win games.
“But when I saw Jamie missing twice, I thought it was a game we were not going to win.
“You expect missed chances from all of the players in the squad apart from Jamie!”
Leicester had 23 shots on goal – compared to one on target from Watford.
“This is a journey that started less than five months ago,” added Maresca. “Thinking in that time that everything is working well, it’s not the reality.
“But I was very happy to be honest, especially after two defeats and seeing how difficult it is to win games.”
Watford came into the game unbeaten in six matches and on the back of a 5-0 win over Rotherham.
But they rarely troubled Leicester – although they had a chance to equalise late in the game when Porteous tested goalkeeper Mads Hermansen.
Manager Valerien Ismael said that he felt Vardy was lucky to still be on the field before scoring his second goal.
Ismael pointed out that Vardy had already been booked for kicking the ball away when he went in strongly on Watford’s Wesley Hoedt.
But referee Allison did not show Vardy a second yellow card.
Ismael also admitted Bachmann’s dismissal could have been avoided as his first yellow was unnecessary.
The goalkeeper ran 50 yards to dispute Vardy’s challenge on Hoedt and was booked.
“I spoke with Dan. I said to him that the first yellow card can be avoided,” said Ismael.
“We had a meeting before the game and when you have a captain who is a goalkeeper we nominate an outfield player to speak to the referee in certain situations.
“But if our goalkeeper runs 50 yards to talk to the referee, then you are in danger of getting a yellow card.”
Ismael criticised the decision not to book Vardy for a second time.
Asked if Vardy was lucky to stay on the pitch, the Hornets coach said: “Yes, very lucky,
“It’s a clear foul on Hoedt. Just after, it’s exactly the same, but a yellow card for our player. It was a strange decision.
“But we needed to be more ruthless in the game.”
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.
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