Leicester 3 Bournemouth 1: Youri Tielemans escapes red card for horror challenge on Callum Wilson in another VAR fiasco
VAR has come under the spotlight again after Youri Tielemans escaped a red card for a horror challenge on Callum Wilson.
Leicester City continued their unbeaten Premier League run with a 3-1 win over Bournemouth.
Jamie Vardy grabbed a double as the Foxes underlined their credentials as serious contenders to break up the top six this season.
Brendan Rodgers' side have won two and drawn two of their opening four games and afterwards the elated boss gathered his player near the centre circle for a massive celebratory huddle.
But the main talking point from the clash at the King Power surrounds Tielemans' tackle.
The Belgian midfielder dangerously lunged into Bournemouth forward Callum Wilson with his studs on show.
Referee Peter Bankes missed the incident, but a VAR review took place.
It looked like Tielemans was set for an early shower, but he escaped unpunished.
Ironically he couldn’t even be yellow carded as VAR can only check for red card offences.
Bournemouth meanwhile were left in a muddle.
They dropped down to 16th as their defence imploded with a performance so alarming, it will raise questions as to why England’s latest recruit, Tyrone Mings was allowed to leave for Aston Villa during the summer.
Both managers take pride in their attention to detail and are regarded as great thinkers of the game.
What a pity the same couldn’t be said for their defenders.
At both ends of the park some of the harem-scarem defending bordered on farcical if you’re being kind - criminal if you are a connoisseur of the fine art of keeping the ball out of the old onion bag!
Either way, it was enough to make two of the UK’s finest head coaches weep!
Take Leicester’s opener after 12 minutes.
If there is one thing everyone knows about the Foxes it’s that they possess a useful striker.
Name of Vardy. You may have heard of him.
Legend has it he is so quick he can switch off his bedroom light and be tucked up under the covers before it’s dark.
Now fast-forward to match-day when he pumps himself up by swigging down a minimum three cans of a well-known energy drink.
Suddenly he’s a whippet - with wings!
So how could Bournemouth’s dozy defenders fail to fathom out it’s a bad idea to leave Vardy acres of space to run into behind them?
Come to think of it, why did Chris Mepham and Steve Cook fail to cut out the danger at source when they watched Ben Chilwell’s stunning hoofed pass travel fully 50 yards towards them?
Somehow neither thought to apply the simple header required to defend their line and suddenly Vardy was off haring past them.
Naturally, he arrived at the ball first.
One bounce off the turf and a sublime lob with the outside of his right boot and Vardy sent the ball sailing over Aaron Ramsdale’s head from 25 yards and into the corner of the net.
Vardy beat his chest with his fist as he celebrated his second goal of the season, which was an absolute belter.
But Eddie Howe must have felt like beating up his dithering pair of defenders for their ineptitude.
However the deadly-defending-virus was clearly contagious because three minutes later Leicester were at it as they gifted the Cherries a speedy equaliser.
Adam Smith found Harry Wilson with a throw-in and the winger moved the ball on to Ryan Fraser.
The Scotland international ran at Periera, looked up and threaded a cute ball behind Jonny Evans to Callum Wilson, who had made a diagonal run behind the Nothern Ireland defender.
Caglar Soyuncu watched it happen in front of his eyes but didn’t think to match the England striker’s bread and butter run into the channel.
That gave Wilson the space he needed to dink the ball left-footed beyond Schmeichel and in off the back post for his first goal of the season – a decent way to mark his latest Three Lions’ call-up.
Leicester responded and James Maddison flashed a header just wide from an Albrighton cross before Soyuncu almost made amends for his howler by curling a shot just over after great recovery work by Albrighton set him up.
Cherries young goalie Aaron Ramsdale continued the sloppiness with a casual attempted pass which went straight to Vardy but bounced off the strikers outstretched toes back to the relieved stopper.
There were first half bookings for Phil Billing, Jefferson Lerma and Albrighton before Leicester took the lead just before half time.
You guessed it, Bournemouth’s defence was caught napping again when Jamie Vardy turned provider, brushing past a powder-puff challenge from Steve Cook inside the box to roll the ball across the face of goal.
Belgian Youri Tielemans nipped between two slumbering opponents to flick the ball home off the inside of the far post to give the Foxes a half-time lead.
Wilson’s day was going from the sublime to the ridiculous and he was booked for a dive in the box before Leicester put the game beyond his team with a third.
Maddison tried a clever stepover in the box to set up Vardy but Mepham read the danger and intercepted.
In keeping with the day he then dallied and Maddison poked the ball away from his toes to Tielemans who slipped a pass to Vardy on his left.
The striker applied the finishing flick to rill the ball home from close range.
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Job done. Bournemouth undone.
How Eddie Howe must regret selling England new boy Tyrone Mings to Aston Villa.
Much to the surprise of a number of players on the pitch, Tielemans escaped unpunished.
