LEICESTER appear to have unearthed another midfield gem in Wilfred Ndidi.
By HARRY PRATT
Sure, the £14million Nigerian star, signed from Belgium club Genk in January, has some way to go before he can be classed in the same bracket as his fabulous Leicester predecessor, N’Golo Kante.
However, on the evidence of this inspirational, match-winning display against Stoke, he certainly looks more than capable of one day scaling similar heights to French maestro Kante.
Ndidi, still only 20, capped a quite brilliant performance with a simply stunning first-half screamer.
And that long-range peach, allied to Jamie Vardy’s sixth goal in his last eight appearances for club and country, was enough to put Craig Shakespeare’s name alongside some of the greatest managers in football history.
The new Leicester supremo has picked up four victories in his first four games as a Premier League boss – a feat previously achieved by only Pep Guardiola, Carlo Ancelotti, Jose Mourinho and Guus Hiddink.
An incredible run by any standards – and one that all but ensures the English champions will still be a member of the elite come next year.
Leicester, in the bottom three when Shakespeare replaced Claudio Ranieri a moth ago, are suddenly EIGHT points clear of trouble – and only three behind ninth-place Stoke.
The reverse fixture between these two Midlands rivals before Christmas had been a ferocious 2-2 draw – and there were plenty more fireworks on Saturday.
But this time they all came from the hosts - as the Champions League quarter-finalists continued where they had left off before the international break.
They would have been ahead after six minutes had centre-half Yohan Benalouane shown more composure instead of snatching a shot wide.
But that set the pattern for the rest of the afternoon with Mark Hughes’ Potters, looking for only their fourth away win of the season, on the back foot throughout.
England hitman Vardy once again lead from the front, chasing every lost cause as if a matter of life and death.
But even the manic Fox had to take a back seat when Ndidi set the place alight in the 25th minute.
There seemed little danger as he collected possession 30 yards out. However, a few seconds and steps later, the lanky African unleashed a right-foot screamer that flew in the top corner past helpless Stoke stopper Lee Grant.
Despite their shoddy form for much of this season, one thing Leicester have always done is take maximum points from a game in which they score first. .
That impressive record was never in danger here with Shakespeare’s rampant men hell-bent on going for the kill.
And the positive approach brought its just rewards immediately after the break when red-hot Vardy doubled the lead.
Right back Danny Simpson was the creator, clipping a perfect cross to the far post for ruthless Vardy’s to grab his 12th goal in all competitions this term.
By HARRY PRATT
However, on the evidence of this inspirational, match-winning display against Stoke, he certainly looks more than capable of one day scaling similar heights to French maestro Kante.
Ndidi, still only 20, capped a quite brilliant performance with a simply stunning first-half screamer.
And that long-range peach, allied to Jamie Vardy’s sixth goal in his last eight appearances for club and country, was enough to put Craig Shakespeare’s name alongside some of the greatest managers in football history.
The new Leicester supremo has picked up four victories in his first four games as a Premier League boss – a feat previously achieved by only Pep Guardiola, Carlo Ancelotti, Jose Mourinho and Guus Hiddink.
Leicester, in the bottom three when Shakespeare replaced Claudio Ranieri a moth ago, are suddenly EIGHT points clear of trouble – and only three behind ninth-place Stoke.
The reverse fixture between these two Midlands rivals before Christmas had been a ferocious 2-2 draw – and there were plenty more fireworks on Saturday.
But this time they all came from the hosts - as the Champions League quarter-finalists continued where they had left off before the international break.
They would have been ahead after six minutes had centre-half Yohan Benalouane shown more composure instead of snatching a shot wide.
But that set the pattern for the rest of the afternoon with Mark Hughes’ Potters, looking for only their fourth away win of the season, on the back foot throughout.
England hitman Vardy once again lead from the front, chasing every lost cause as if a matter of life and death.
But even the manic Fox had to take a back seat when Ndidi set the place alight in the 25th minute.
There seemed little danger as he collected possession 30 yards out. However, a few seconds and steps later, the lanky African unleashed a right-foot screamer that flew in the top corner past helpless Stoke stopper Lee Grant.
Despite their shoddy form for much of this season, one thing Leicester have always done is take maximum points from a game in which they score first. .
That impressive record was never in danger here with Shakespeare’s rampant men hell-bent on going for the kill.
And the positive approach brought its just rewards immediately after the break when red-hot Vardy doubled the lead.
Right back Danny Simpson was the creator, clipping a perfect cross to the far post for ruthless Vardy’s to grab his 12th goal in all competitions this term.
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