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• Nigel Pearson hails Jamie Vardy after unhappy Leicester return

  Bristol City manager Nigel Pearson believes Jamie Vardy’s winning mentality at the latter stages of his career is something that should be recognised.

  Vardy, 36, made sure there would be no celebration for Pearson, who made his first return to Leicester City since being sacked in 2015.

  The Leicester striker scored from the penalty spot in the 67th minute, after Wilfred Ndidi had been brought down by Kai Naismith, to secure a 1-0 victory which put Enzo Maresca’s side back on top of the Championship table.

  It was Pearson who started Vardy’s King Power career 11 years ago when he made the striker the first £1million non-league player, moving from Fleetwood Town in 2012.

  Vardy was the only player left in Leicester’s starting line-up from Pearson’s spell in charge.

  “Whatever people think of Jamie, to still have the winning mentality he has at this stage of his career, is something that we should acknowledge,” said Pearson.

  “Players like that bring qualities and standards, which you need to nurture. So to still have Jamie Vardy at Leicester is going to be a very important factor.”

  Despite the result, Pearson admitted he was touched by the reception he received at the King Power Stadium.

  “I can’t deny I had tears in my eyes, because it’s really good to see people again,” said Pearson, who attended the game on crutches due to a back problem.

  “It means a lot. My family were here, my dad too because he used to love coming here and then going out for a smoke at half-time!

  “He’s 89, I’ve got my grandchildren as well. It was a big part of our lives and it’s very touching to receive the respect I got shown. A nice story, but we still lost.”

  Leicester made it three wins in successive games with a seventh league victory of the season.

  This was also the first time since last October they had recorded a clean sheet at home in a league game.

  “We struggled to find a goal but I was absolutely not worried because since minute one we created chances,” said Maresca.

  “It was a good win. The only thing I asked them for the second half was to continue in the same way because we were good in the first half, we just missed a goal.

  “Continuing the way we were playing for sure we would create more chances, and we won the game. If we continue to play in the way we play today, it’s good.”

  Maresca admitted he wanted to gee the home supporters up when Leicester were trying to break down the Robins’ defence.

  “It was the moment where the team was making a big effort – we needed a plus,” he added.

  “We needed a little bit more. The idea was not to convince the fans, but to get them more with us because it was the right momentum to score the goal. The fans were brilliant today.

  “This win was especially important because after two wins away against two important teams, you cannot relax. But this was a tricky game so I am happy with the performance. The players showed how professional and how serious they are working.”

• Juventus slip up as Sassuolo claim big win

  Juventus missed the chance to go top of Serie A after they slumped to a 4-2 defeat at Sassuolo.

  The Bianconeri had claimed 10 points from an unbeaten start, but came unstuck at the Mapei Stadium as Sassuolo battled to a second league win.

  After Juve midfielder Adrien Rabiot had fired an early shot wide, Sassuolo took the lead in the 12th minute when Armand Lauriente’s dipping shot squirmed past Juve keeper Wojciech Szczesny.

  The visitors, though, hit back to level within 10 minutes.

  Federico Chiesa sent over a deep cross from the left towards the far post where Weston McKennie was sliding in and Sassuolo defender Matias Vina got the final touch as the ball dropped into the net.

  Manuel Locatelli drilled a low shot just wide before at the other end, Szczesny made amends for his early error with a fine one-handed save from Ruan Tressoldi’s downward header.

  The Polish keeper, though, could do little to prevent Domenico Berardi from putting Sassuolo back in front five minutes before half-time.

  Matheus Henrique rolled the ball across the edge of the penalty area and Berardi curled a fine left-foot strike into the corner to mark his 300th Serie A appearance with a fine goal.

  There were penalty appeals from the visitors when Federico Gatti’s cross struck Ruan Tressoldi on the arm, but the referee’s decision not to award a spot-kick was backed up following a VAR review.

  Juve coach Massimiliano Allegri made two changes for the start of the second half as Nicolo Fagioli and Samuel Iling-Junior replaced Fabio Miretti and Filip Kostic.

  England Under-21 international Iling-Junior looked to inject fresh life into the Juve attack, darting down the left before a deep cross dropped just past the far post.

  Sassuolo remained a threat on the counter, and Berardi slid Lauriente into the penalty area, but his wild shot flew over.

  At the other end, Dusan Vlahovic scuffed just wide of the far post before Juve eventually equalised again with 12 minutes left.

  Iling-Junior flicked down a deep cross at the back post and Fagioli cushioned it into the path of Chiesa, whose deflected strike flew in.

  However, Sassuolo were soon back in front in the 82nd minute. Lauriente’s fierce drive was punched out by Szczesny, and Andrea Pinamonti nodded in the rebound.

  Sassuolo keeper Alessio Cragno kept out Chiesa’s angled shot at the near post before substitute Gregoire Defrel almost scored another for the hosts on the break when his effort cannoned back off the crossbar.

  The fourth goal did arrive in bizarre fashion during stoppage time when Gatti, under pressure from Henrique, knocked the ball back into an empty net after receiving a quick free-kick from Szczesny, who was left stranded out near the corner flag.

• Grant McCann believes Doncaster are heading in right direction after Gills scalp

  Doncaster boss Grant McCann believes his side are only getting better after making it back-to-back wins with the 2-1 triumph over high-flying Gillingham.

  Two excellent strikes from Ben Close, including an 87th-minute winner, saw Rovers collect their first home league triumph of the campaign, a week on from finally picking up a maiden victory at Forest Green.

  And McCann feels his side are firmly heading in the right direction as they seek to make up ground on the promotion-chasing pack in the division.

  “We had to be very good to win and I felt in the second half we were as good as we have been this season,” he said. “I thought we were really in control.

  “We’re yet to have that full 90-minute performance. We’re still searching and that takes some doing, every manager will tell you that. Teams will always have a spell against you.

  “I felt that Gillingham didn’t really have much of a spell against us and on a whole, I felt the second half was a real performance from us.

  “I could feel the team taking on board the information we had given them, particularly in taking up the pockets of space to have that control of the game against a top, top team.”

  Gillingham manager Neil Harris is still looking for his team to find the balance between defensive solidity and creativity after dropping points in South Yorkshire.

  The Gills set the early pace in League Two with five 1-0 wins from their opening eight matches. But with Harris encouraging them to deliver more decisive scorelines, they have shown vulnerability in defence, which he is keen to see quickly banished.

  “In the last couple of weeks we’ve been a lot more creative, we’ve had sparks, we’ve shown class and we want to continue that because if we do, we will wins games of football comfortably,” Harris said.

  “We’ve won a lot of games so far 1-0 by being resilient. In the last couple we’ve not been as resilient as I would have liked but we’ve been really good with the ball. We’ve just got to find that balance between the two.

  “The winning goal for Doncaster – he stuck it in the top corner but it’s poor from the restart, and it was from the first. To be a top team in League Two, we’ve got to be better than that from restarts.”

  Despite his frustrations, Harris felt Gillingham should have won the game comfortably.

  He said: “I’m baffled how we’ve not won the game. We’ve not won the game because we weren’t clinical enough. We should have been coming off (with) four or five goals but if you don’t take your chances, you don’t win games.”