Leicester City came away from Vicarage Road with a narrow 1-0 win last night and are now five points clear at the top of the Premier League table.
The Foxes started the game at a frantic pace, with Riyad Mahrez setting up Jamie Vardy to whip round Heurelho Gomes, only for his shot to be cleared off the line by Nathan Ake. After surviving a few chances from Leicester, the Hornets started to make their own, their finishing touch letting them down on several occasions.
It was left to Mahrez in the second-half to score the winning goal, threading a lovely curling shot through the Watford defence and past Gomes.
Yet again Watford are left ruing chances missed throughout the game, coming away with no points from an otherwise entertaining game. Conversely, the win gives the Foxes a five point gap at the top of the EPL table after the North London derby saw Arsenal and Tottenham share the points.
Watford are left at 12th spot on 37 and they could drift to 13th if West Brom beat Manchester United.
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Watford
Heurelho Gomes – 6: Called into action early on in the match. Made several good saves but will feel disappointed with Mahrez’ goal.
Nathan Ake – 7: Made a crucial clearance when Vardy had rounded Gomes to clear the ball off the line, nearly scored his own with a nice header.
Sebastian Prodl – 5: Visibly struggled to deal with the opposition pace, look uncomfortable from the get-go.
Allan Nyom – 6: Kept Marc Albrighton under wraps for the first-half, did a decent job on his wing.
Jose Holebas – 8: A replacement for Miguel Britos, who was injured during the warm-up. Displayed some excellent passes with Capoue and Deeney.
Ben Watson – 6: Found it hard to get a grip on the game, as Danny Drinkwater and N’Golo Kante controlled the midfield superbly for Leciester.
Mario Suarez – 7: Played probably his best game so far for Watford. A constant threat in the midfield and showed some good control with the ball.
Etienne Capoue – 6: Was fairly subdued throughout the game, showed one or two good moments but rarely affected play. Substituted late on
Nordin Amrabat – 8: Was a menace for Watford, arguably the best player on field for the hosts and managed lots of crosses into the box
Odion Ighalo – 5: A quiet game for the Nigerian. After missing several chances last week against United, Ighalo was expected to bounce back, however, he struggled throughout the match and for his one true goalscoring opportunity, he sent it straight into Kasper Schmeichel’s hands.
Troy Deeney – 7: Managed to link up well with Ighalo on several occasions, yet much like his partner up front, missed his goalscoring opportunity by shooting straight at the goalkeeper.
Substitutes
Almen Abdi – 5: Came on for Suarez in the 65th minute, had one fairly decent chance and wasted it, striking wide of the goals.
Ikechi Anya – N/A: Brought on for Nyom in the 82nd minute, was not enough time to make an impact.
Obbi Oulare – N/A: Came on for Etienne Capoue in the 88th and did not have any impact on the game.
Leicester City
Kasper Schmeichel – 8: Found himself excellently positioned to make some brilliant stops, denying Ighalo and Deeney.
Danny Simpson – 8: Played well at right-back, was a defensive gem and kept the ball rolling upfield.
Robert Huth – 7: Excellent in defence, had a few chances from set pieces as well.
Wes Morgan – 8: Contained Ighalo excellently and very nearly scored from a Vardy cross
Christian Fuchs – 6: Fought hard with Nordin Ambrat, losing to him a few times, but performed decently enough
Riyad Mahrez – 8: Had a few chances in the first-half but was otherwise relatively quiet, that is until he scored the stunning and winning goal of the game.
Danny Drinkwater – 8: Played an excellent 90 minutes and slowed down the Watford attack for the most part.
N’Golo Kante – 7: Returned from a back injury to put in a decent shift
Marc Albrighton – 7: Managed to get the ball to Vardy twice in excellent position, before coming off at halftime.
Shinji Okazaki – 6: Put in a decent job and did his best until his substitution at halftime
Jamie Vardy – 8: A constant thorn in the Watford defence’s side. Given several chances to score, yet missed them all. Still looking for that 20th goal.
73% – 11 of Riyad Mahrez's 15 Premier League goals for Leicester City this season have come away from home (73%). Special.
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) March 5, 2016
Substitutes
Jeffrey Schlupp – 7: Added to the Foxes attack in the second-half, creating a change on goal and delivering two crosses.
Andy King – 7: Passed at a high degree but did not see enough of the ball.
Daniel Amartey – N/A: Introduced for the final five minutes to see out the victory.
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