Jamie Vardy strike edges Leicester to victory in error-strewn clash with Everton

Everton 0-1 Leicester City: The forward's goal was the solitary highlight of a match that lacked any real high-quality football

Jamie Vardy celebrates what proved to be the winner at Goodison Park (Getty)

If Claude Puel’s future as Leicester City manager is under scrutiny, their supporters may hope that remains the case for some time to come after their team came out on top of an appalling contest at Goodison Park.

A Jamie Vardy goal was the solitary highlight of an error-strewn match and a victory which means Leicester have now won at Chelsea and Goodison Park, while also beating defending champions Manchester City, in their last four fixtures.

The other game in that run, of course, saw Leicester lose at home to Cardiff, a result which had some supporters demanding Puel’s removal and saw speculation mount about the Frenchman’s security, a bizarre situation given their general run of form.

Fittingly, the goal came from one of numerous errors committed by both sides, this one from Kasper Schmeichel’s long clearance just before the hour.

Theo Walcott’s header should have been comfortably controlled by Michael Keane but, instead, he gifted the ball to Ricardo Pereira who, in a manner out of keeping with the rest of the game, actually managed to thread through a decent pass for Vardy to chase.

Jordan Pickford collects the ball under pressure from a Leicester attack (AFP/Getty Images)

With only the goalkeeper to beat, Vardy did precisely that, a rare piece of skill and technique in a game which featured little of either.

A lunch-time kick-off on New Year’s Day certainly did little in terms of aiding the atmosphere or quality of football, especially during a first half which put in an early bid for the most instantly forgettable 45 minutes of this, or any other, year.

By the 20-minute mark, the teams were toiling with pass competition rates in the 60 per cent mark and a long string of unforced errors which would have shamed a schoolboy contest.

The only slight deviation from the rank mediocre came on 19 minutes when a Lucas Digne left-wing cross passed through the area unmolested and Jonjoe Kenny met it on the right-hand edge of the box, unleashing a powerful first-time shot that struck the stanchion.

But that was the only instant that elevated the first half above the instantly forgettable.

Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Hamza Choudhury tussle for possession (Getty Images)

An early error by Harry Maguire – the first of many from both teams – gifted the ball to Gylfi Sigurdsson whose pass picked out Richarlison for a first-time shot which was struck directly into the chest of Jonny Evans.

A Kenny cross was headed wide by Dominic Calvert-Lewin, Digne’s free-kick was headed down, and wide, by Kurt Zouma before Zouma at least temporarily woke up a slumbering Goodison crowd with a powerful 25-yard shot over the goal soon after.

Leicester, who remain in the hunt for Europa League places despite speculation over the future of Puel, were even more inept than their hosts.

It took until the 26th minute for the Foxes to muster anything remotely resembling a shot, Rachid Ghezzal’s long-range effort that was guided directly at Jordan Pickford, while, late in the half, Ricardo Pereira wriggled away from two defenders but shot hopelessly off target.

At least the respective managers acknowledged the appalling spectacle unfolding before them, with Puel bringing on Marc Albrighton at the interval to try and invigorate his midfield and Marco Silva soon responding with the introduction of Bernard.

Ben Chilwell makes his way down the wing for Leicester (AFP/Getty Images)

By that stage, Everton were a goal behind although Sigurdsson hinted that a response might be imminent with a half-volley that just cleared the bar soon after.

It was a false dawn for Everton fans and, in fact, Leicester might have stretched their lead when Ricardo Pereira ghosted past Zouma far too easily and his near-post strike was spilled by Pickford before the home side managed to scramble clear.

A shot from Everton sub Cenk Tosun was aimed directly at Schmeichel but the home side’s frailties were again exposed when full-back Ben Chilwell was allowed to advance 70 yards, defenders backing away, before driving the ball goalwards where Pickford saved comfortably.

The hosts were also fortunate to escape a late penalty claim from Leicester when Maguire’s header, from a free-kick, appeared to be handled by Keane.