Brendan Rodgers was willing Jamie Vardy to get a hat-trick against Norwich because there might not be many left for him in the future. Vardy scored twice to lead City to their first win in eight against the Canaries, with James Maddison rapping up the victory to put Rodgers’ team back into the top half of the Premier League table. The number nine did almost get a treble too, turning a shot just wide as City dominated the second half.
Brendan Rodgers said: “I thought he worked ever so hard. He worked tirelessly throughout the evening, chasing lost causes, getting blocks in. Then there was his movement. He was outstanding tonight and in particular the second goal, it was fantastic movement and finish. That’s why I kept him on, to try to get him his hat-trick. He’s a bit older now, so every minute counts. There might not be as many hat-tricks for him. He gave everything tonight. It’s been a tough season for him. For players it’s about rhythm and he has missed a lot of games. He’s such a brilliant guy, so hungry. He showed that this evening, scoring two really good goals. He was a real threat all night.”
There was a slight concern towards the end when Vardy appeared to have injured his wrist. That will be checked out ahead of the game against Watford on Sunday.
Brendan Rodgers added: “I spoke to him afterwards. He fell on his wrist there and it looked a bit sore. Hopefully it will be okay. He’ll recover now and we’ll see what he’s like for the weekend.”
Vardy’s goals came as part of a second half were City were dominant, following a first half in which both teams could have scored a few each, with Angus Gunn and Kasper Schmeichel both in good form. City were too open for Rodgers’ liking, so he brought on Papy Mendy and shuffled his midfield around.
Brendan Rodgers said: “We were much better second half. The first half was too passive and too slow. There was too much space in the game for me in the first half. I said to the players that if I don’t change the game that we could win it but we also might lose it. We changed the structure of the team and then we were much better.”
