(Premier League 2024/2025): Highlights Leicester City - Tottenham Hotspur

It's just three months since the heady day in May when Leicester lifted the League Championship trophy to mark an instant Premier League return. Since then it's been a summer of change on Filbert Way as Steve Cooper becomes the man at the helm to lead City back into the top flight this evening. So it's a new era and a new season, as ever, that brings with it hope and anticipation. There will be trials and tribulations along the way. The Foxes never quit mantra will be instilled into this squad of players as they embark on the club's 55th top flight league season. Spurs are tonight's opposition in what is the final game of the first Premier League weekend. The teams lining up in front of the main stand here at King Power Stadium for Leicester City and for Steve Cooper. His first Foxes XI sees debuts for Summit recruits Bobby Deckard-Over-Reid and Facundo Buonate. Abdul Fattahou has made his lone move a permanent one. He starts as well. Jamie Vardy is pass fit. He starts. It's the City strikers' 13th season as a Fox. Just one new face in the Spurs XI. That's Dominic Solanke. He cost around £60m from Bournemouth last week. James Maddison returns to the ground that he called home for five years. Probably a good time to mention James Maddison. Gerry was given a warm welcome when he entered the field earlier. Leicester will be aware of his threats. His first return to King Power Stadium will clearly be a man to watch. Absolutely. It's a big evening for James Maddison personally. Returning to the club that basically gave him his Premier League curtain call, if you want. As you can see, he's just getting a round of applause from the fans over on the far side there. And rightly so. He's a great servant. He's at Tottenham now. He'll be under his own personal pressure to get off to a good start with Tottenham, especially when the first game of the new season is against your old club. He did appear pre-match with Jamie Vardy to lay a wreath by the touchline. There were fitting tributes for Craig Shakespeare throughout the warm-ups. There were two balls placed on the centre circle. He was affectionately known here as two ball shaky. Quite often your team with a each arm as he entered the field to start the pre-match routine. Probably a good time to kind of signal really there is more to life than football. And earlier this month, the passing of Craig Shakespeare who made huge contributions to Leicester as part of the coaching squad that managed the great escape, managed promotions and of course managed alongside Claudio Ranieri, the greatest of achievements when Leicester lifted the Premier League title. And now Leicester, led by the Birch, will pay respects to Craig Shakespeare. The Blue Army coming together to remember a very special man. And over in the far left corner of the Kop, there was an image of Craig Shakespeare with the aforementioned balls under each arm and the words underneath simply said rest easy. A very fitting tribute Gerry and fair play to Birch for getting the words out there because he'd have felt this one. In fact it's Birch walking off the field with two balls tucked under his arm, passes a comment to Jamie Vardy on the way. Yeah he would have been a person who would have got on really well with the Birch especially because he always you know wanted to put smiles on people's faces and Birch is exactly the same you know they just had that sort of similar temperament personality in and around the training ground so yeah sorely missed mate. As has been the case before Premier League games at this weekend players of both sides will take the knee as a constant reminder that discrimination in football cannot be tolerated and we're underway. Leicester City's 55th top flight season begins here at King Power Stadium. They are all in blue, they kick towards the family stand to our left as we look from the top of the main stand. Spurs in white shirts with navy blue arms, navy blue shorts, kick towards the Kop. An early touch for James Madison booed by a section of the home crowd. He did get a warm reception when he came on for his initial warm-up he called Leicester City home for five years, over 200 appearances, 55 goals. Again forcing the issue down that left-hand side with song and it's another corner. Winks played well over 200 games for his boyhood club as Madison takes the corner flicked on at the near post brilliant goal saving challenge from Wilfrid and Didi an overhead kick on the goal line with two Spurs players coming towards him. Johnson gets a snapshot that's pushed away by Hermansen, can Leicester break from that? De Cordova-Reed touches it beyond Johnson, it's Buonatte who will chase down van de Ven, it's gone all the way back to Vicario. Nervous moments but what brilliance from Wilfrid and Didi. Yeah absolutely, ala Hamza Choudhury last season on two occasions, that was flying into the back line there but somehow Wilfrid you know the spectacular overhead kick almost wasn't it to get it away, this time it's a corner from the opposite side of the pitch. It's short it's come to the edge of the box too, Sont and left footed curly ball it's a diving header but it's straight at Mads Hermansen, I think it was Romero on the far side who did have a lot of space in fact Solanke got that final touch he'll be keen to get off the mark for his new club, 19 goals in the Premier League last season. Spurs play the ball around the the back across the halfway line then it goes back out to Helmut Son, Maddison on that left side again dummies to cross with his right foot goes on the outside with his left adjacent with the penalty area then he slides the ball into Son on the byline comes in it was blocked at the near post by Vestergaard lovely move, Maddison and Son linking up as they did so well last season in a Spurs shirt. Nervous moments for Leicester City. Yeah again lovely little reverse pass wasn't it from Maddison to find Son completely bamboozled everybody in the Leicester City defence thankfully you know another decent block. Corner in near post again a glancing header that's gone beyond everyone it will be a corner to restart it was a Leicester head that was in the way from another wicked Maddison corner. I think it was Abdel Fattahoui got the first touch he said there was a lot of pace on that that was whipped in with a lot of pace from Maddison difficult balls to defend against so Leicester have done well there. Maddison will come across to this right side again he's got that short option of Pedro Porro and he uses it gets it onto his right foot across a direct a header that's just wide. Again it was one of the Spurs defenders I think it was Romero it was slightly behind him had to adjust his body but it was still a powerful header and it was not far off at all. Yeah missed a couple of times now Leicester have been put under real pressure so he's unlucky though Jim. Benson Kerr, Maddison just on the edge of the centre circle in the Leicester half outside of the right boot it's Son on the Leicester left into Maddison he's now on the edge of the area low ball in header goal and Spurs have taken the lead with Pedro Porro the right back who has made his way to the six yard area and James Maddison so often creating goals on this ground in a blue shirt tonight he creates one for his new team in Spurs and Porro with just a glancing head of the beat Hermansen the ball drops into the corner and 29 minutes in Leicester behind Spurs lead by a goal to nil. Yeah well it's been coming especially with a head hasn't it as I said four or five opportunities Tottenham have had and all headed opportunities as well those five I said living a charm life because they kept falling into the arms of Mads Hermansen but this time it's a lovely little in swinging ball from Maddison as you say Porro finds himself inside the box and just glances it just does enough just gets his head on it glances it and it just rolls into the bottom the bottom right hand corner as we look at it just to the side of it Maddison is the only player left over the ball that's positioned about 25 yards out left of centre as we look Hermansen peering through the wall as Maddison opts to chip it and it's Johnson across the face of goal any touch would have done but it evades everyone and it goes to safety as far as Leicester are concerned well I mean everybody's thinking who rolls it back to Wout Vast does go long this time Vardy just about got himself in front of Romero that bounced the ball not kind of his favour goalkeeper a long way out Deckard Overeed has gone for the ambitious from the centre circle in the Spurs half of the field but it was always drifting wide of the goal yeah it was on though you know as you say the keeper was a no-man's land after he'd come out and cleared that neither was any other Spurs defender anywhere near the goal uses Porrow who's joined him on that right touch light tries to wriggle his way free of Bobby Deckard Overeed and now it's with Maddison who does a full 360 to feed it back to Porrow and back to Maddison onto his left foot inside the penalty area brilliant block Brad Christiansen inside the area and then a free kick as Johnson pushes Deckard Overeed to the ground well again Leicester just guilty of switching off falling asleep Christiansen does well as I say with a hurried ball forward that's gone all the way through to Vicario here's Son James Justin quickly closing down Buonatte this is positive for Leicester Vardy on the edge of the area touches it off to Bobby Deckard Overeed it's a block by Pape Sarr the flag raised anyway it's the most encouraging sign that Leicester City fans have had quick closing down from Justin and then for Tawu involved Buonatte involved Vardy involved James Justin who's won the ball back the ball goes in there Son James Justin wins it back gives a chance for him lovely link up for Tawu and Winks and Buonatte coming down the Leicester right side onto his left foot got Vardy inside the box it's Vardy it's a header up into the air towards Deckard Overeed with his back to goal but he was out muscled on the edge of the box Christiansen has won it back on the far side he's joined by Undidi it's fed into Christiansen it's a low ball across the six yard area comes out for Tawu on the Leicester right he's crossed Vardy Jamie Vardy again for Leicester City ageless priceless and timeless Jamie Vardy just a few yards out for Tawu the youngster with the cross and Vardy just continues to add to his Leicester goalscoring tally an equalizer at King Power Stadium it's 1-1 well it's vintage Vardy isn't it he doesn't even look fit Vardy but what he does Brunel is he finds his space at the back post he doesn't get involved he really gets involved initially in the build-up by winning the header but then when it comes back out to the straight hand side into Abdul for Tawu everyone gets drawn towards the ball everyone that is except Jamie Vardy just picks up a position at the back post you can see all the Tottenham players are being drawn towards the middle of goal Vardy just sitting at the back post for Tawu with a lovely little dink left footed cross to find him and he makes absolutely no mistake from there headed down into the ground textbook header no way to keep her saving that premier league goal 137 for the 37 year olds looks like as you say there's Archie Gray getting changed getting stripped Kulishevsky it's Lucas Vervalp he's the third he's through on Artek just behind Dekodova Reid does well to adjust and control the ball feeds it back to Buonatte then it's on the right to for Tawu it's Ndidi making an underlapping run strikes first time into the side netting Dekodova Reid and Vardy were looking for the pullback but Ndidi who scored six last season as Leicester made their way back to the premier league it's almost like a pre-season game down on the touchline in a minute six players ready to come on here's Dekodova Reid lovely layoff six yards out left hand side racing on to the path and then when you thought the trademark finish was coming Vicario was out quickly and managed to block the shots Spurs at the other end coming forward Johnson will run out of pitch that'll be a goal kick it's end to end exciting stuff at King Power Stadium 1-1 with 70 and then Greenman driving now is Mavadidi who's dispossessed Bergwalt holds up play a right foot across Ndidi's header and pushed away by Vicario diving to his left he's annoyed with Bergwalt for giving possession away too easy and Ndidi nearly came up with a winning goal in injury time well it was almost as if Steffi Mavadidi had stopped and then he's just seen he's again got up there into the box they will defend nervous fans watching on as Bergwalt will deliver right footed Richarlison's header near post over the bar a golden opportunity that could be the last chance of the game but the substitute passes it up and Leicester look to hold on to an opening day point well it's a free header no one picks up the run up over Charleston he just goes in at that near post really difficult skill to try and pull off and that's why you see the ball go well wide almost like the relief from the chance missed raise the volume at King Power Stadium game one done 37 to go and the first point is on the board Spurs dominated the first