Jamie Vardy’s Leicester penalty miss ‘justice’ after ‘kick’ on Wolves’ Jose Sa
Jamie Vardy confirmed he will be leaving Leicester City at the end of the season, but his first game after that announcement did not go to plan.
The striker has spent the last 13 years with the club, winning the Premier League and FA Cup and scoring 198 goals in almost 500 appearances across all competitions.
This though has been a much more disappointing season for the Foxes, who have already seen their relegation from the Premier League confirmed.
Vardy had issued a damning verdict on his Leicester side after relegation was made certain last week, and that was not the only statement he has made in recent days.
Jamie Vardy farewell tour starts badly
On Thurday (24 April), Vardy announced that he will leave Leicester at the end of this season when his contract with the club expires.
In the wake of that announcement, the striker will be keen to at least end his time with the Foxes on a positive note in the final games of this campaign.
However, things did not go well for him as his side travelled to Molineux to take on Wolves on Saturday afternoon (26 April).
After goals from Matheus Cunha and Jorgen Strand Larsen had Wolves 2-0 up just before the hour mark, Vardy was given the chance to pull a goal back for Leicester.
That came after the striker went down after colliding with goalkeeper Jose Sa inside the penalty, with referee Sam Barrott and VAR both deeming the clash worthy of a penalty for the Foxes.
However, Vardy was then denied by Sa, with the Wolves ‘keeper producing an excellent save to deny the Leicester legend from the spot, which Michael Dawson believes ensured the right outcome was reached.
| Jamie Vardy vs Wolves | Total (as per SofaScore) |
| Shots on Target | 1 |
| Shots off Target | 1 |
| Successful Passes | 8/14 |
| Duels Won | 3/6 |
| Fouls | 1 |
Speaking about the striker’s performance on the Sky Sports Soccer Saturday, the former Tottenham defender said (5:45pm): “He didn’t participate much in the game. It was a really, really hard game for him.
“You know as a centre-forward, when you’re an out-and-out number nine you’re as only as good as your service and he didn’t get an awful lot.
“What he did get was a ball by El Khannouss, lovely pass in behind the defender, and we’ve seen it all the way through Jamie Vardy’s career, he plays on the shoulder of the defender, he looks to run in. The ball’s between Jose Sa and you think ‘who’s going to get there first?’
“Jamie Vardy gets there first, nicks it past Jose Sa. I thought he kicked Jose Sa, went down, got a penalty. VAR didn’t intervene, they looked at it and said ‘OK’ but I still think it was very, very soft.
“He stepped up, we thought it was going to be 199 [goals for Leicester], and for me it was justice. Great save to Jose Sa’s right.
“Overall, poor performance from Leicester, which is no real surprise, it’s been an absolutely disastrous season for Leicester, and back to the Championship.”
Leicester City will want to give their greatest player a good send off
Football Insider Verdict
Things would get worse for Vardy and his side at Molineux before that game finished, with Rodrigo Gomes later adding a third goal for Wolves.
That marked yet another disappointing result and performance in what has been such a below-par season for the Foxes.
Indeed, there have been suggestions that others will follow Vardy out of Leicester as a consequence of how badly things have gone for them during this campaign.
Considering how much the striker has done for the club during his 13 years there, it will be disappointing for him to depart the King Power Stadium on such a sad note.
The pressure is therefore on the club to at least give him one more win to celebrate before he bows out from his career with the Foxes.
Given their final two home games are against the other two relegated sides in Southampton and Ipswich, those connected with Leicester may feel they do at least have a chance to do that.