Leicester City fans’ 12 replays of Christmas
In honour of the endlessly replayable Harry Winks winner at The Hawthorns last Saturday, we’ve selected a few goals from Leicester City’s recent history that have made us hit play over… and over… and over again.
12: Jamie Vardy v QPR (A)
A slightly niche one to start with - this wasn’t a spectacular goal or a last-minute winner in front of the away end - but it was a key moment against a promotion rival in a successful season.
It also possibly marked the start of Jamie Vardy doing Jamie Vardy things: namely, running clear of the opposition defence and dispatching the ball confidently into the corner of the net.
Suggested by Matt Jedruch
11: Paul Gallagher v Crystal Palace (H)
Again, not a high-profile Premier League strike but the kind of goal that, if you were there, you remember what it looked like from where you were in the stadium.
I’ve occupied lots of different areas of Filbert Way over the years (even the away end a couple of times, but that’s another story). For some reason, I was in the northwest corner for this one and it seemed to defy gravity, the ball slowly rising for a full 30 yards.
It was a fitting welcome back to the returning Nigel Pearson.
Suggested by Jamie Thorpe
10: Max Gradel v Milton Keynes (A)
Younger supporters might wonder what the fuss would be about equalising to avoid defeat against a team like Milton Keynes. Again, as weird as it seems to talk about a game like this as if it happened in the 1970s, if you know, you know…
Leicester were on a long unbeaten run when 2-1 down at the home of League One promotion rivals MK. Ivorian winger Max Gradel was a fans’ favourite who hadn’t quite reached his potential. This moment marked the high point of his time with us.
Now 36 years old (how?), he’s still playing - for Turkish side Gaziantep.
9: Lilian Nalis v Leeds United (H)
One of the great ‘did that just happen’ moments of Leicester City’s 21st century exploits. Lilian Nalis felt like an exotic arrival at the time - a French midfielder with long, flowing locks who had an absolute stormer in a pre-season friendly against Barcelona and looked set to take the English top flight by storm.
Clearly, that didn’t happen and, as with Gradel’s goal, this was by far Nalis’s best moment in a Leicester shirt. It still looks extraordinary to this day and remains top for some fans in the greatest Leicester goal polls.
Suggested by Matt Jedruch
8: Jamie Vardy v Liverpool (H)
We could have picked any number of Vardy goals - where’s the fourth in the 5-3 win over Manchester United, I hear you furiously type? Where’s the lob over Lloris? Where’s the rounding Claudio Bravo after Mahrez pulled off the best one-touch assist of all time?
But you can’t have them all… In fact, it’s fitting that this slots in next to Nalis as this was another example of remarkable technique that also felt a bit like a player just absolutely wellying a ball towards goal.
The replayability here came from the shock of Vardy taking the ball so early. With most goals, you have more than a split second to see them coming. But hardly anyone watching could have thought he’d take it on from there, even if the ball sat up nicely.
As with several other goals on this list, the live commentary is now iconic and you can reel it off without even checking: “You have just seen something right out of the very top drawer!”
In fact, it feels strange to watch it without that commentary…
Suggested by Jamie Thorpe
7: Yakubu v Derby County (A)
Ah, the Yak. Such a shame that all he did was score goals. This was his best in a Leicester shirt, performing a couple of quick thigh controls before firing the ball into the Derby net.
It wasn’t the kind of goal you see very often, which makes it very, very replayable.
Suggested by Jamie Thorpe and Iain Wright
6: Anthony Knockaert v Notts Forest (A)
While the Nalis, Vardy or Yakubu goals above had us wondering ‘did that just happen?’ due to their individual brilliance, this had us thinking the same but for a different reason - this wasn’t the kind of thing that happened to Leicester City.
It was too delicious: scoring a last-gasp winner in front of the away end at the City Ground to secure a play-off place (and deny one for our old friends from up the A46).
Ian Stringer’s ‘Allez les Bleus’ became famous in Leicester circles but I prefer the words that came just before that: “It’s the goal”.
Of course, within a few days we had a moment that felt a lot more like what you expect from Leicester City down at Vicarage Road. But even that turned out quite well in the long run…
Suggested by Iain Wright
5: Anthony Knockaert v Huddersfield Town (A)
This takes my personal record for the number of times I’ve replayed a goal in the space of an hour. Because as soon as I saw this for the first time, I had to immediately watch it again. And again. And… etc.
We’re obviously talking about the second strike here - and ignoring anyone who says it’s an own goal by the goalkeeper.
4: Youri Tielemans v Chelsea (N)
I think there was some part of my brain that, even as this hit the back of the net, knew I’d be watching it again regularly for the rest of my life.
The best thing about scoring a great goal in an FA Cup final is that there haven’t been that many so it automatically becomes “one of the great FA Cup final goals” to most people.
To win the FA Cup at any point in our lifetimes would have suited most Leicester fans, but to win it with a goal like this followed by one of the great FA Cup final saves and one of the great FA Cup final disallowed goals… just the perfect day.
Suggested by Iain Wright
3, 2 and 1: Jamie Vardy v West Bromwich Albion (A)
The Hawthorns - not just Jamie Vardy’s favourite away ground but surely a lot of Leicester fans’ favourite trip too.
From the away end at the other end of The Hawthorns, Vardy’s goal on Halloween of 2015 looked gorgeous and summed up a confident, counter-attacking team streaking away to win on the road.
On replay, if you can find it, I particularly love the Alistair Bruce-Ball BBC commentary. Bruce-Ball has time to say “we’ve seen it so many times before” as Vardy races clear of, yes, Jonny Evans, then delivers a perfectly-timed “and again!” as the ball hits the net.
Two more great lines accompany Vardy’s famous great escape winner earlier in 2015. “And Leicester are coming here… and Leicester City have really done it now!”
However, I couldn’t help but put one of the most underrated goals in the history of football at number one in this list. How did he do it?
12 Days of Christmas at The Bridge
For the past 10 years, The Bridge Homelessness to Hope has served a 3-course Christmas Dinner with all the trimmings to hundreds of people in Leicester who are experiencing homelessness.
This year, they want to go one better and offer their guests (service users) not just one day of celebrations but 12 days of festive events over the month of December.
If you’re enjoying The Fosse Way, please consider donating to The Bridge’s Christmas appeal:
