The question everyone wanted to know the answer to was how Leicester City would cope without Jamie Vardy, their leading goalscorer and one of the central characters in English football’s most unlikely narrative. The response was delivered triumphantly by the Leicester City supporters in the closing minutes as “4-0 to the one-man team” reverberated round the King Power Stadium.
Whether Mauricio Pochettino’s claim that Vardy’s suspension would have a “big impact” on Leicester’s title pursuit was a mischievous attempt at mind games or a genuine assessment of how he saw the situation, it turned out to be no more than wishful thinking on the part of the Tottenham Hotspur manager.
Come the final whistle Vardy was standing in his executive box, smiling as he joined the Leicester supporters in applauding the efforts of a team that had just registered their biggest victory of the season. Rampant and clearly enjoying themselves despite the pressure of the occasion, Leicester played like a team galvanised by the tumultuous events the previous Sunday, when Vardy’s dismissal during the 2-2 draw against West Ham United had threatened to open a window of opportunity for Spurs.
Leicester’s response to all the column inches dedicated to Vardy’s unavailability was emphatic and sent out a clear message that there is far more to Claudio Ranieri’s team than their 22-goal striker. Leonardo Ulloa, who has spent so much time on the substitutes’ bench this season yet never once betrayed any sign of frustration or disappointment at being overlooked, proved to be a more than able deputy on an afternoon when he scored twice and left the field to a standing ovation.
Hobbling and holding his hip as he trudged towards the edge of the pitch, Ulloa hardly looked a picture of health when he was replaced by Andy King but the Argentinian’s job was done and, just like the week before, when he dispatched a 95th-minute penalty to earn Leicester that precious point against West Ham, his contribution proved vital. Ulloa’s double here took his tally for the season to six and was bookended with goals from Riyad Mahrez and Marc Albrighton.
If ever a picture told a story of Leicester’s season and one of their greatest strengths, it was taken after that fourth goal. Every Leicester outfield player ran to congratulate Albrighton, who had not long come off the bench after being left out of the starting lineup for only the second time this season. It may be an old-fashioned value but team spirit still goes a long way.
Ranieri, as part of his wider strategy to deal with the absence of Vardy, had opted to go with Jeffrey Schlupp on the left flank instead of Albrighton, primarily to inject some more pace into a team that was in danger of looking short in that department without the England striker on the pitch, and not for the first time this season ‘The Tinkerman’ got his tactics spot on.
Schlupp, making only his 13th league start this season, was a constant threat on the left. His direct, penetrative runs caused Swansea problems time and again but in particular in the 60th minute, when the 23-year-old’s touch, speed and power saw him skip past Àngel Rangel and Federico Fernández with embarrassing ease.
His first attempt to square unselfishly to Ulloa was blocked but the second dropped at the striker’s feet and he had the simple task of stabbing the ball over the line for Leicester’s third goal. By that stage Leicester were so comfortable and in such control that it seemed strange to think that Vardy’s ban, and the potential implications for the Premier League leaders, had been a matter of such fierce debate in the lead-up to the match.
At the same time it was tempting to wonder what Vardy would have done to Ashley Williams, who endured such a torrid afternoon at the centre of Swansea’s defence. Williams was at fault for Mahrez’s opening goal, he lost out in an aerial dual with Ulloa for Leicester’s second and was later booked. Vardy, watching from on high, could have been forgiven for allowing his mind to wander to that Euro 2016 game between Wales and England in Lens and rubbing his hands.
Next up for the England striker, though, is an assignment of a different kind at the Football Association. After accepting the FA’s improper conduct charge in relation to his sending-off against West Ham, Vardy will get the chance to put forward his case on Monday after requesting a personal hearing. Everybody connected with Leicester will be hoping that the FA lets him off with a fine, yet the alternative – an extended ban – may not signal the sort of shift in the title race that many had suspected.
