Leicester

Chris Forryan
Fan writer

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And on the eighth day, Ruud van Nistelrooy did not rest but instead continued to raise the dead.

OK, let's not get too excited. Ruud is not God, yet. But what he has done in eight days is nothing short of a miracle.

He has taken a team who, against Brentford in particular, looked like a pub team on a Sunday morning after a heavy session the night before. Although, that could be being unfair to pub sides around the country.

First up was West Ham on Tuesday night. You could argue, quite rightly, that West Ham were the better team. They ended up with an expected goals of 3.0, but that was also our goal tally against their one goal.

The busiest man during that game was the groundsman, who had to pick up all the limbs we left out on the pitch. It was a true game of grit and determination, something which I had not seen in a while - in two days we had become Ruud van Nistelrooy's Avengers.

But one swallow does not make a summer and next we faced Brighton which on paper have been a much harder game.

Coming off a loss to Fulham, with a point to prove and a European challenge to reignite, I think we all would have probably taken a point at kick-off.

Well we got that point - and we also got another performance of similar character.

Yes, we came back from two goals down to beat Southampton but they are no Brighton and they are bottom for a reason. Even at 2-0 down, I was pleased with the performance at King Power Stadium.

Let's see what Van Nistelrooy makes of the team in the upcoming games, and what moves he might make in the January transfer window.

Foxes never quit? Well, they don't now.

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Former Leicester City winger Matt Piper believes Jamie Vardy will reach the 150 Premier League goals club this season, after the 37-year-old's strike against Brighton brought him within eight goals of matching Michael Owen's record.

Speaking on BBC Radio Leicester's When You're Smiling podcast, Piper said: "The only thing that would stop him doing it this season is maybe injury. He is getting older, so he will pick up little niggles here and there, but we have just got to hope that he has a season clean from injury.

"If he does, I think he will get there. Let's go one step further: could he get into the Premier League's all-time top 10 goalscorers this season? I think why not, especially now we have Ruud [van Nistelrooy] as manager!

"Number 10 is Jermain Defoe on 162 goals, so Vardy probably won't get there this season but he will keep playing until he gets into that top 10.

"I'm not saying that in jest, I'm being serious. But, if he doesn't get there [in his career], it doesn't matter.

"The level Jamie Vardy operates at - only starting at top-flight level when he was 27 years old, scoring the amount of goals he has, becoming the player he has become, Enzo Maresca is saying he is better than Wayne Rooney and Harry Kane - is magnificent.

"It would just be amazing if he could be in that top 10. His career isn't over yet - I don't think it's anywhere near finished yet - so if he could push himself into that top 10 it would be much deserved for the player he has been over the years."

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Leicester City captain Jamie Vardy is proving why the Foxes "still need him in the team" believes former Foxes winger Matt Piper, after the striker scored and assisted in Sunday's comeback draw with Brighton.

"This is why he is the GOAT," said Piper on the When You're Smiling podcast. "When you get a chance like that late on to grab an equaliser, against a really good Brighton side, and you are that unselfish to roll it to a man that is in a better position, it is huge.

"Especially knowing that Bobby [De Cordova-Reid] was going to score the chance and he [Jamie Vardy] probably had a 70% chance of scoring, because it was a tight angle.

"To be that unselfish and that calm - in that moment - was huge. It was just deserved for Leicester.

"This is why you still need him in this team. If he is fit, he is the first name on the team sheet. He has all the experience, he is still quick and he can still finish.

"I'm hoping that he will go on to beat Michael Owen's record [of 150 Premier League goals] this season.

"We call him the GOAT for a reason. We say every season that we need a statue for him. The more he keeps having goal contributions like this, he is only going to make it more definite that his statue is erected soon."

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We asked for your thoughts after Sunday's Premier League game between Leicester City and Brighton.

Here are some of your comments:

Leicester fans

Vincent: I thought from the offset we looked composed, organised and positive in our play. We looked on par with a very good Brighton team. It looked like we were playing under Enzo again at times. You could see the quality of Brighton and their goals took the wind out of us. Ruud made some astute changes and after Vardy's goal we looked on to get something. I'm glad I stuck around for it! Brilliant!

Lewis: Great game. We lacked a bit pace upfront so the ball over the top was never on, yet we played it over and over again. But some great football out there. Soumare and El Khannouss both played amazing - tracking back and winning it back. Defensively Kristiansen did not do very well with two goals from the left side, though he was played quite high up. Overall we fought to the end and got a point.

Steve: If we had 12 Jamie Vardys we'd be regularly winning the Champions League. The guy's a genius and next to Gordon Banks a deserved club legend.

Brighton fans

Tim: To throw away a two-goal lead to a bottom six side late on - yet again - is a sign of a poorly coached side unfortunately. Hurzeler is not learning from mistakes and is too naive for the Premier League.

Ben: Taking off Ayari and Mitoma was an error. We lost control and gave away two more points. We are looking more like Spurs each day- brilliant one moment but with a soft belly.

James: If we are serious about becoming a team who consistently challenges for European spots then we need to weed out the individual mistakes and complacency that has caused us to throw away two-goal leads to Wolves and Leicester, as well as drawing with lowly Ipswich and Southampton. Beating City, United and Spurs is all well and good but the results against teams we're expected to beat need to follow as well.

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Former Leicester City winger Matt Piper believes the Foxes look "a lot more confident" under new manager Ruud van Nistelrooy, after fighting back from two goals down against Brighton.

Speaking on BBC Radio Leicester's When You're Smiling podcast, Piper said: "I thought they played well. The chances didn't come as they did against West Ham and Brighton were ruthless in front of goal [but] we had some chances. They are clearly a lot more front-footed and they press the game a lot higher under Ruud.

"Don't forget - this is a Brighton team that are flying high at the minute, although they had a poor result recently.

"But the team didn't lose the belief, even though a lot of the crowd did. You can throw eggs at me when I come out of the ground, but I just don't like that. Whether we are winning or losing, if you are a supporter then the majority should stay and support the team.

"The people that did [stay] got rewarded for it. I'm so pleased for the club, the team and the players.

"Under Ruud, at the minute, the confidence and 'never-say-die' attitude to keep going until the end is amazing."

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Mark Chapman presents highlights and analysis from Sunday's four Premier League fixtures, plus the best of the action from the rest of the weekend.

If you missed Match of the Day 2, catch up now on BBC iPlayer.

And you can watch Saturday's Match of the Day here.

Listen back to Sunday's full match commentaries on BBC Sounds:

• Fulham 1-1 Arsenal

• Leicester City 2-2 Brighton

• Tottenham 3-4 Chelsea