London: Jamie Vardy scored a brace including a sensational long-range goal as Leicester City sank Liverpool 2-0 on Tuesday to safeguard their spot at the Premier League summit.
Manchester City kept pace, the day after Pep Guardiola was announced as their new manager, by winning 1-0 at Sunderland, but Arsenal fell five points below the summit after a disappointing 0-0 draw at home to Southampton.
Manchester United blew off the cobwebs in a 3-0 win over Stoke City, but nothing could overshadow the predatory brilliance of Vardy, whose goals preserved Leicester’s three-point lead over second-place Man City.
“The first goal was unbelievable,” said Leicester manager Claudio Ranieri.
“Jamie is very fast and can create a lot, but it was unbelievable how (Riyad) Mahrez found him and how he had the time to see the keeper out of the goal and score a fantastic goal.
“The team is in good condition. Now it is important to recover the energy because we have to run a lot against Manchester City.”
Reports had emerged earlier in the day that Vardy is due to sign a new contract and the 29-year-old England striker delivered a perfectly timed reminder of his talent at the King Power Stadium.
He opened the scoring on the hour with a goal-of-the-season contender from wide on the right, running onto Riyad Mahrez’s pass from the Leicester half, allowing the ball to bounce and ripping a ferocious, dipping strike over Simon Mignolet from 30 yards.
