Postpublished at 82 mins
Leicester 1-1 Tottenham
Tottenham weave lots of pretty patterns on the edge of the Leicester box but James Justin is able to clear as the ball looks to be heading in Son Heung-min's direction.
![Dominic Solanke](https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/ace/standard/640/cpsprodpb/vivo/live/images/2024/8/19/d195cedb-2465-48f0-814e-acf39a55fb7f.jpg.webp)
Jamie Vardy's goal came at the age of 37 years, seven months and eight days
The evergreen Jamie Vardy marked his return to the Premier League with a goal as promoted Leicester held Tottenham to a draw at King Power Stadium.
Vardy, 37, scored with the hosts first shot on target, nodding in Abdul Fatawu's cross from close range just before the hour mark.
The goal cancelled out Pedro Porro's first-half opener for a Spurs side who had been utterly dominant in the opening 45 minutes and should have been comfortably clear before Vardy struck.
Summer signing Dominic Solanke, who moved to Tottenham for a fee that could rise to £65m, missed a number of early opportunities to score on his debut, twice directing tame headers at Foxes goalkeeper Mads Hermansen.
Instead, Vardy's equaliser brought Leicester to life and they could have taken all three points as Tottenham struggled to deal with their energy and enthusiasm.
The former England striker could have secured the win himself as he was sent through on goal but his low strike was kept out by Guglielmo Vicario.
Neither side could find a winner and, while Leicester gained an important point as they strive to prove wrong those tipping them for relegation, Spurs were frustrated after their first-half dominance.
Meanwhile, Tottenham midfielder Rodrigo Bentancur was substituted in the second half after he was injured in a nasty collision.
The 27-year-old received oxygen as he was carried off on a stretcher following a five-minute delay for treatment, but boss Ange Postecoglou said after the game he was "conscious and communicating".
Draw with Spurs builds belief & confidence - Cooper
Leicester have experienced plenty over the past few years - from winning the Premier League and playing in the Champions League to relegation to the Championship.
But the constant throughout all that has been the presence of Vardy.
He scored 136 goals in 307 appearances during his first spell in the Premier League but stayed with them on their return to the second tier to help them bounce back immediately.
The striker agreed a new one-year deal in the summer to enjoy what presumably will be one final hurrah in the top flight but belied his advancing years to earn Leicester a deserved point.
It had initially been expected that he would not be fit enough to play in this game but he stepped up for Steve Cooper's injury-hit side and made the most of his surprise appearance with his goal.
The signs of rustiness were there when he was unable to grab the winner, placing a strike he normally tucks into the far corner too close to Vicario.
But he nevertheless showed he will more than play a part in Leicester's bid to stay up this season, particularly with a possible points deduction looming for an alleged profit and sustainability breach.
Spurs wasteful in front of goal - Postecoglou
Tottenham have hopes of kicking on this season after seeing their top-four challenge fall away last term, but this was far from the ideal start.
For 45 minutes, they looked a class above their opponents, dominating possession and creating chances, but a lack of cutting edge ultimately proved costly - as it did several times in the previous campaign.
Spurs will look to new signing Solanke to provide that clinical touch in front of goal this season, but he too was guilty of failing to put away opportunities on his debut, and should have at least tested Hermansen more with his two early headers.
Richarlison then directed a header wide from a free-kick in the final few seconds as Postecoglou looked at the ground in frustration. It is very early days, but this performance will give the Tottenham boss plenty of think about.
After the opportunity to rate players has closed, the score displayed represents the average from all the submissions by BBC Sport users.
Position | Team | Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | Goals For | Goals Against | Goal Difference | Points | Form, Last 6 games, Oldest first |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 3 |
| |
2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 3 |
| |
3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 3 |
| |
4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 3 |
| |
5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| |
6 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| |
7 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
| |
8 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
| |
9 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| |
10 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| |
11 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| |
12 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| |
13 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | -1 | 0 |
| |
14 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | -1 | 0 |
| |
15 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | -1 | 0 |
| |
16 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | -1 | 0 |
| |
17 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | -2 | 0 |
| |
18 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | -2 | 0 |
| |
19 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | -2 | 0 |
| |
20 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | -3 | 0 |
|
Manager: Steve Cooper
Formation: 4 - 2 - 3 - 1
Manager: Ange Postecoglou
Formation: 4 - 3 - 3
Manager: Steve Cooper
Formation: 4 - 2 - 3 - 1
Manager: Ange Postecoglou
Formation: 4 - 3 - 3
Premier League
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All competitions
All competitions
Leicester beat Tottenham 4-1 in their last Premier League meeting in February 2023, last winning consecutive league games against Spurs in October 1999 (a run of three).
Tottenham have only failed to score in one of their 17 Premier League away games against Leicester, a 3-0 loss at Filbert Street in September 1997.
Of all Premier League fixtures to have been played at least 30 times, Leicester against Tottenham has the highest goals-per-game average (3.8 – 128 goals in 34 games). There have been 28 goals scored in the last five meetings between the sides alone (5.6 per game).
Leicester are unbeaten on the last nine occasions they’ve begun their league campaign with a home game (W6 D3). However, the last three times they’ve lost such a match, they’ve been relegated at the end of the campaign – 1-3 v Newcastle in 1994-95 (Premier League), 0-5 v Bolton in 2001-02 (Premier League) and 0-1 v Blackpool in 2007-08 (Championship).
This is the seventh time Tottenham are starting their Premier League campaign against a promoted side; they’ve won five of the previous six, losing the other 1-0 against Sunderland in 2007-08.
Tottenham’s last four Premier League wins of 2023-24 came against each of the sides to finish in the bottom four (Nottingham Forest, Luton, Burnley, Sheffield United). They won all six of their league games against promoted sides last term, accounting for 30% of their overall victories (6/20).
Leicester have lost half of their Premier League games played on Mondays (21/42) – only in Friday games do the Foxes have a higher loss rate in the competition (61.5% - 8/13).
New Leicester manager Steve Cooper’s last Premier League game in charge was a 2-0 home defeat to Tottenham in December last year with Nottingham Forest. This will be the 10th occasion of a manager taking charge of consecutive Premier League games against the same opponent but with a different team, with none of the previous nine losing both matches.
Tottenham’s Son Heung-min has been involved in 13 goals in 14 Premier League appearances against Leicester (9 goals, 4 assists), only having a hand in more against Southampton (15). Indeed, the Korean has scored five and assisted once in his last three against the Foxes.
Leicester striker Jamie Vardy has scored eight Premier League goals against Tottenham, only netting more goals in his league career against Arsenal and Watford (11 each). Indeed, the Englishman has netted seven goals in eight MD1 appearances in the Premier League with only four players scoring more on the opening matchday in the competition’s history (Shearer, Lampard, Rooney & Salah – 8 each).