Leicester 3-0 West Brom: Foxes run riot as first half blitz sends West Brom closer to the drop

Jamie Vardy was back among the goals as Leicester eased to a 3-0 win over a lacklustre West Brom at the King Power Stadium.

The Foxes were at their ruthless best with James Maddison in the side and should have taken the lead after five minutes when Kelechi Iheanacho spurned a one-on-one with Sam Johnstone after some sloppy defending.

But it didn’t take long for the hosts to make amends, as Jamie Vardy scored his first goal in 12 matches thanks to a fine assist by Timothy Castagne.

The imperious Youri Tielemans set up the second just three minutes later when his corner picked out Jonny Evans to head home for his first goal in two years.

Vardy then turned provider before half time after he weaved his way into box and picked out Iheanacho to hammer in - rounding off after an utterly dominant half from Leicester and a miserable one for the Baggies.

The onslaught continued after the break as Leicester continued to torment the visitors with Maddison and Tielemans dictating play in midfield and Iheanacho twice going close early in the second 45.

But despite their possession, Leicester struggled to build on the lead while West Brom showed little to now desire to fight back in a lethargic second half.

Vardy almost caught Johnstone off his line from distance, but there were few big chances in the second period after the Foxes had the game killed off in the first.

The result sees Leicester edge three points closer to a spot in next season’s Champions League, while West Brom’s great escape looks less likely than ever as they remain nine points from safety.

Jamie Vardy was at his best with a goal and an assist tonight, putting an end to a run of 12 games without netting for the Foxes. The striker looked electric all night and made life so hard for the Baggies backline.

Already nine points adrift of safety, this looked like a must-win match for West Brom with just six games remaining.

But they looked nothing like the team that secured resounding wins against Chelsea and Southampton, and make no mistake this was a pathetic performance for a side in such desperate need of points.

Now it looks like there may just be too much ground to cover, and with displays like this there is simply no chance of a great escape this time for Big Sam and West Brom.

Leicester: Schmeichel 6, Fofana 7, Soyuncu 7, Evans 8, Castagne 8, Ndidi 7, Tielemans 8, Thomas 6, Maddison 7, Iheanacho 7, Vardy 9. Subs. Albrighton 6, Perez 6, Praet n/a.

West Brom: Johnstone 7, Furlong 6, O’Shea 4, Bartley 5, Townsend 6, Phillips 5, Yokuslu 5, Maitland-Niles 5, Robinson 6, Pereira 5, Diagne 5. Subs. Ajayi 6, Robson-Kanu 5, Grant 5

5’ - CHANCE WASTED! Unbelievable. Iheanacho is through in a flash after some very sloppy defending by West Brom. He has all the time he could ever want, too much time apparently as he takes a heavy touch which just about allows Johnstone to get to the striker's feet in time. Really should be 1-0 given the form he's been in.

23’- GOAL! LEICESTER 1 WEST BROM 0 (Vardy). There it is! Back on the scoresheet! Tielemans plays a stellar pass down the right to Castagne who feeds the ball to Vardy in the middle of the box. The striker gives Johnstone the eyes and just knocks it into space. Top strike. 1-0.

26’- GOAL! LEICESTER 2 WEST BROM 0 (Evans). Minutes after I praised his skincare routine, Evans scores a goal with his head. Tielemans' comes off the chest of Phillips and Evans is on hand to hammer the header home. West Brom have it all to do now.

36’ - GOAL! LEICESTER 3 WEST BROM 0 (Iheanacho, 36'). World class. It's all about Vardy who comes in from the left, megs O'Shea, gets his head up to pick out Iheanacho who makes space before hammering past Johnstone from close range. Game over for my money.

43’ - WHAT A CHANCE! Iheanacho is five yards out in space and just absolutely blatters it over the bar. Has. To. Score.