Leicester City 2 Bournemouth 0: Morgan & Vardy continue Rodgers' momentum
March 30, 2019 17:43 MYT
Wes Morgan struck for the second straight game and Jamie Vardy scored a header as Leicester City eased to a 2-0 Premier League victory over Bournemouth at the King Power Stadium.
Having also netted against Burnley last time out and signed a new contract last week, Morgan continued a memorable spell with an early goal on Saturday.
Vardy sealed the victory eight minutes from time, as Leicester won a third straight home game in the top flight for the first time since May 2017.
Home fans paid tribute to former owner Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha, who would have celebrated his 61st birthday next week, and gave a good performance to mark the occasion in continuing their strong start under Brendan Rodgers.
2 – Wes Morgan has scored in consecutive Premier League appearances for the first time in his career. Captain.
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) March 30, 2019
Veteran defender Morgan gave Leicester an 11th-minute lead in surprising fashion, producing an instinctive flick from 12 yards to send Ben Chilwell's shot in off the post.
At the other end, Kasper Schmeichel made a key save at point-blank range to deny Callum Wilson, who looked destined to score from Ryan Fraser's cross.
Leicester had chances to extend their lead, as James Maddison fired wide while Vardy somehow missed the target with an even better opportunity after Ricardo Pereira's throughball.
There were fewer chances after the break, with Vardy forcing a good stop from Asmir Begovic - making his first start since January in place of Artur Boruc - in the only significant opportunity before the latter stages.
The win was sealed when Vardy beat Begovic to Youri Tielemans' right-wing cross for his 13th Premier League goal of the campaign, and sixth in his last seven games.
Bournemouth, who have now won only one of their last eight league games, failed to test Schmeichel in the second half.
FULL-TIME Leicester 2-0 Bournemouth Brendan Rodgers' men climb to eighth in the #PL after goals from Wes Morgan and Jamie Vardy sink the Cherries#LEIBOU pic.twitter.com/LXBiUf7iLQ
— Premier League (@premierleague) March 30, 2019
What does it mean? Leicester looking good
Leicester have won three straight games since losing their first match under Rodgers against Watford, and they looked assured at both ends of the pitch here.
Fans of the Foxes will be excited about what next season has in store, though there is still the potential for a high finish this term – this win sees them move up to eighth.
Bournemouth, meanwhile, are trending in the opposite direction. They continue to struggle badly in the second half of the campaign, though their points total of 38 at least means a relegation scrap is highly unlikely to be on the agenda.
Maddison magnificent
Maddison was unfortunate to miss out on England selection during the international break, but continues to stake his claim for Three Lions involvement. While he was not involved in either goal, he created a game-high five chances and is forming an exciting central-midfield partnership with Tielemans.
Wilson wasteful
Bournemouth will look back at Wilson's failure to beat Schmeichel from six yards with the goal gaping as a key moment. The striker had scored in three of his last four games, but could not deliver when it mattered in this one and did not have another shot in the match.
Key Opta Facts
What's next?
In-form Leicester are away to relegated Huddersfield Town next Saturday, which is the same day as Bournemouth host Burnley.