Sunderland 0 City 2
Report by Colin Hall
Two goals from Jamie Vardy gave Leicester City a 2-0 victory at Premier strugglers Sunderland and took the Blue Army another step further towards an unprecedented top-flight title.
In an encounter which was every bit as tense and physically competitive as many had forecast, the composure and quality of the England striker's finishing proved to be decisive.
Claudio Ranieri, unsurprisingly, named an unchanged starting eleven for the sixth game running, although Ben Chilwell replaced Marcin Wasilewski on the bench. The hosts, looking to extend a three-game unbeaten run of their own, were also unchanged.
City made the stronger start, with N'Golo Kanté forcing home keeper Mannone into an early save. However this proved to be the Foxes' only effort on target during a drab first half.
Although the Foxes spent long spells in the Sunderland half, the Black Cats sat deep, denying the league leaders time and space. Riyad Mahrez looked particularly ill-at-ease, a shadow of the player he has been so often on our travels during this momentous campaign.
The main talking points during the half came from three penalty claims, the first of which came when Shinji Okazaki fell under a challenge by home defender Yedlin. However referee Taylor ruled that no intentional content had taken place.
Minutes later, City survived a scare when a dangerous cross from former Foxes loanee van Aanholt hit the hand of Robert Huth. Many referees may have succumbed to a baying home crowd and awarded a spot-kick, but this official thought – correctly – that the contact was not deliberate.
Van Aanholt was also involved in an incident at the other end when charging down a Mahrez shot. Although replays showed the ball did indeed strike his arm, once again the referee could not find evidence of intent.
In the dying seconds of the half, Sunderland almost snatched a shock lead when Borini broke clear on the right, only to see his deflected shot strike the leg of Kasper Schmeichel and bounce to safety.
Both sides stepped up the tempo after the break, with Borini causing further problems for the City defence. But the visitors gave as good as they got, with Okazaki and Danny Drinkwater narrowly failing to make a breakthrough with chances in quick succession.
Midway through the half, though, City finally made their extra quality tell. After Kanté – once again – had broken up a home attack, Drinkwater found his range to send Vardy clear. While the striker's touch seemed slightly heavy, he recovered well to find the far corner of the net and spark ecstatic scenes among the 3000-strong visiting contingent.
Sunderland, desperate for a point at the very least in their battle to avoid the drop, mounted predictably frenzied attempts to restore parity, but the City defence, as it has so often in recent weeks, remained steadfast.
Yet such resistance, stoic though it was, could – and probably should – have been ended with ten minutes remaining, as a freak deflection saw the ball reach home sub Rodwell just eight yards out. However, with Schmeichel stranded, he somehow sent the ball over a gaping goal.
Was this moment another sign of the ultimate destiny of the Premier crown, – and maybe, of Sunderland's ultimate fate too?
Even from the stratospheric heights of the away section of the Stadium of light, the physical and psychological impact of such a horrendous miss could be seen upon the home side. As they wilted notably in the closing stages, City squandered a number of chances to give the scoreline an extra gloss.
Eventually, though, in the last seconds of stoppage time, Vardy took a pass from sub Demarai Gray, rounded Mannone and notched up his 21st league goal of the campaign, breaking the sequence of recent 1-0 victories in the process.
Once again, City were applauded by opposing fans as well as their own at the end of the game and even the normally-calm Ranieri appeared to be visibly overwhelmed by the significance of this result. Only failure to fulfill UEFA financial fair play regulations – not yet assured in the light of a protracted ongoing dispute with the Football League – can now prevent the Foxes from playing in Europe next season.
The more immediate tests, though, will come in the next two games, both at the King Power Stadium. If this team can hold its nerve – and there is every reason to believe it will – the coronation of the most widely-acclaimed top flight champions in decades may only be a matter of days away.
Sunderland (4-3-3): Mannone; Yedlin, Kaboul, Kone, Van Aanholt; Kirchoff, Cattermole (c), M’Vila (Rodwell 68); Borini (Lens 76), Defoe, Khazri (N’Doye 68). Subs not used: Pickford, Jones, Larsson, O’Shea
Booked: Borini.
City (4-4-2): Schmeichel; Simpson, Morgan (c), Huth, Fuchs; Mahrez (Gray 80), Kanté, Drinkwater, Albrighton (Amartey 84); Okazaki (Ulloa 62), Vardy. Subs not used: Schwarzer, Chilwell, Dyer, King.
Goals: Vardy 67, 90+5.
Booked: Fuchs
Attendance: 46,531 Referee: Anthony Taylor
The views expressed in this report are the opinions of the Trust member nominated to file the report only and do not represent the views of the Foxes Trust organisation