Jamie Vardy scored a hat-trick as Leicester ran riot in a stunning 5-2 victory over Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium.
Man City dominated early on and took the lead through Riyad Mahrez’s superb half volley with his weaker right foot from 15 yards (4), but Leicester equalised with their first shot on goal as Kyle Walker tripped Vardy in the box; the England striker duly converted the penalty (37).
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With Leicester’s second shot, Vardy produced a stunning flick beyond Ederson from close range (54), before again winning a penalty, this time from Eric Garcia’s foul, and converting for 3-1 (58).
Sub Maddison made it four with a screamer from 25 yards, curled into the top corner (77), before Nathan Ake’s header looked to have made the scoreline look slightly more respectable (84).
Youri Tielemans rounded off a fabulous win, and a nightmare day for the hosts, slotting a penalty after Benjamin Mendy had fouled Maddison (88).
The result means Pep Guardiola has seen a side he is managing concede five goals for the first time ever in his 686th game as a manager, while Leicester keep up their 100 per cent record this season in the Premier League.
How Foxes bite prompted Man City capitulation
Man City had all of the ball in the first half, and were ahead via a piece of magic from former Leicester man Mahrez, hitting a fine half volley into the top left corner from the right of the box after Kevin De Bruyne’s corner had been cleared.
The hosts were camped in Leicester’s defensive third, and should have gone 2-0 up as De Bruyne’s wicked free-kick was met by Fernandinho eight yards out, but he failed to make proper connection with his header, collected gratefully by Kasper Schmeichel.
Despite their dominance, Man City still allowed for gaps in their defence, and Leicester got their chance when Harvey Barnes played Vardy into the box, forcing Walker to bring the striker down.
Vardy blasted home, top left corner, meaning the 33-year-old has won more penalties (19) and scored more (22) than any other player in the Premier League since his debut in August 2014.
Despite an erratic start to the Premier League season across the board, nobody could have predicted what came in the second half at the Etihad.
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First, Vardy got on the end of Timothy Castagne’s low cross from the right to produce a fine flick past Ederson – described aptly by Gary Neville on Sky Sports as a ‘Cruyff dink’ – for his and Leicester’s second.
It was 3-1 just four minutes later as Vardy again got goal side of Garcia in the box, going down after brushing the Man City defender, and yet again Vardy dusted himself to finish, low to Ederson’s left.
Man City’s young striker Liam Delap, brought on just six minutes into the second half, hit the crossbar with a header from deep, but the next goal went to Leicester again as Maddison, cutting in from the left, curled a beauty over Ederson and into he top corner from range.
Ake scored his first goal for the hosts with six minutes remaining, climbing highest to a Mahrez corner for 4-2, but yet another penalty fell Leicester’s way as Benjamin Mendy brought down Maddison just inside the box. With Vardy already subbed, Tielemans duly converted for a famous victory.
In a season where clean sheets seem to be a rare commodity, Guardiola will still not have expected to see such a concerning capitulation from his side, who conceded five goals in a home game for the first time since February 2003.
For Leicester, three wins from three have gone some way to ridding the ill feeling from the end of the 2019/20 season, and with Vardy, even at 33, they still have one of the very best forwards in the game.
