Leicester City forward Jamie Vardy made history on Saturday by scoring for the 11th Premier League match running in his side’s 1-1 draw at home to Manchester United.
The England striker scored in the 24th minute, pacing onto Christian Fuchs’s pass and arrowing a shot past David de Gea to break a record he had previously shared with former United striker Ruud van Nistelrooy.
Van Nistelrooy, whose record had stood since 2003, did well to congratulate Vardy, writing on Twitter: “Well done @vardy7! You’re number one now and you deserved it. #11inarow.”
The record capped a remarkable rise for 28-year-old Vardy, who was playing non-league football in 2012 and had been playing in the seventh tier of English football as recently as 2010.
It was his 14th goal of the campaign, which makes him the league’s top scorer, but Bastian Schweinsteiger’s 46th-minute header — his first United goal — prevented Leicester from reclaiming first place.
Instead Claudio Ranieri’s side finished the day in second place, a point above United, with Manchester City top on goal difference after overcoming Southampton 3-1 at the Etihad Stadium.
Kevin De Bruyne scored for the first time in six games to put City ahead and went on to create goals for Fabian Delph and Aleksandar Kolarov, with Shane Long replying for Southampton.
“I was very pleased with the team’s reaction,” said City manager Manuel Pellegrini, whose side were beaten by Liverpool and Juventus in their two previous games.
“We were a little nervous until the third goal, but I’m happy with the performance and the result.”
Sergio Aguero gave City’s fans concern when he hobbled off mid-way through the second half, but Pellegrini said that his substitution was merely “a precaution”.
Pellegrini was forced to do without injured goalkeeper Joe Hart, who was replaced by Willy Caballero.
But the hosts went in front in the ninth minute when Raheem Sterling robbed Maya Yoshida and crossed for De Bruyne to tap in from close range.
De Bruyne’s corner in the 20th minute allowed Delph to crown his first league start for City with his first goal for the club, a 25-yard shot that deflected in off Virgil van Dijk.
Support InfoStride News' Credible Journalism: Only credible journalism can guarantee a fair, accountable and transparent society, including democracy and government. It involves a lot of efforts and money. We need your support. Click here to Donate