Jamie Vardy’s Leicester City farewell played out perfectly as the striker hit his 200th goal and Ruud van Nistelrooy’s side secured victory over Ipswich.
On his 500th and final appearance for the club, Vardy latched onto James Justin’s pass and finished with typical composure to reach a double century in blue.
The King Power Stadium erupted in response as City fans got to see their hero net one final time.
With returning heroes from the title win in the stands and with a full stadium display before kick-off, it was truly a celebration of Vardy’s 13 years at the club, and City were able to cap it with a win.
Kasey McAteer sealed the result in the second half, one that puts City in pole position to finish 18th and claim an extra £2.8m.
With their fans gleefully taking on the role of potential party-poopers, Ipswich came within inches of an early lead left-back Leif Davis cracking the inside of Jakub Stolarczyk’s near post.
But as City grew into the game, so did Vardy. The big moment was there for him in the 20th minute when he was played through by Jordan Ayew.
Vardy skipped over Dara O’Shea’s challenge and was in one-on-one, but his touch took him wide and then he was forced into shooting from a tight angle by the recovering Ipswich defenders. In the end, it was tame.
Moments later, he hit the side-netting after latching onto a free-kick. Some fans thought it was in.
But they didn’t have to wait long to celebrate properly. Jack Clarke slipped in the middle of the pitch and Justin pinched the ball, dashing forward with it, to surge past two men before sliding in the perfect pass to find Vardy’s run.
He doesn’t make the same mistake twice, and this time he took the shot early, finishing between O’Shea’s legs and beating a flat-footed Alex Palmer to roll the ball into the net.
In classic Vardy fashion, he made a beeline for the Ipswich fans that had been taunting him, putting his finger to his lips then standing with the corner flag aloft.
Now City just needed to make sure they won the game, and there was a warning from Ipswich that it wouldn’t be easy when Omari Hutchinson struck just over five minutes from the interval.
The Tractor Boys were on top early in the second period too, but the good chances were evenly split. Stolarczyk got lucky when Julio Enciso charged down his clearance but failed to convert into the empty net, the Pole then recovering to deny George Hirst from a tight angle.
At the other end, McAteer curled an effort onto the post, the academy graduate inches away from his first home goal. It would come moments later.
Bilal El Khannouss fed Wilfred Ndidi, who cleverly prodded the ball on to McAteer free on the right, the winger blasting in at Palmer’s near post.
With the victory sealed to ensure a perfect send-off for Vardy, there was time to substitute him and give him a guard of honour as he left the King Power pitch in blue for the final time.
**Jakub Stolarczyk:** He was very fortunate that Enciso could not convert when the keeper’s kick was charged down. The Pole took way too long to clear his lines. He spread himself well to deny Hirst just after though. **5**
**James Justin:** It may get lost amid the celebrations around Vardy’s 200th goal, but it really was a terrific assist from the right-back, who showed an alertness to win the ball and then the positivity and quality to run forward with it, beat two men and slip in a perfect pass. He had a solid game beyond that too. **8**
**Conor Coady:** He put in a few good blocks, a testament to his experience and reading of the game that he was able to get himself in the right place. But he was beaten too easily by a long ball for Hirst’s second-half chance. **7**
**Wout Faes:** He defended the box well really well with headers and blocks and timed his interventions well when stepping out of the back-line. Another strong showing from the Belgian on what could be his last at the King Power. **8**
**Luke Thomas:** He had a tricky task against Hutchinson and it’s a shock he didn’t get booked given how many times he fouled the winger. He was always in and around him though. **5**
**Wilfred Ndidi:** He used his body well, whether it was his strength or his long legs, to help protect the defence and cut out Ipswich attacks. It was a delightful touch from the Nigerian for McAteer’s goal too. **7**
**Boubakary Soumare:** Sometimes he was too ambitious with forward balls, sometimes he brought groans from the crowd by going backwards. But there were lots of decent interceptions and neat passes into attacking areas in a good all-around display. **7**
**Kasey McAteer:** He struggled to keep tabs on Davis early on, and it was the Ipswich left-back who caused City a lot of trouble. But in the second period he used the space afforded to him really well, first hitting the post and then finishing confidently at the near post for his first Premier League goal. **8**
**Jordan Ayew:** He annoyed fans early on by not moving the ball quickly enough, but he had his name chanted by the second half. He held the ball up excellently to get City out of tight spots, while also setting up Vardy with one great pass and showing bursts of pace previously unseen from the Ghanaian. **8**
**Bilal El Khannous:** Another confident outing from Moroccan, whose close control was very good throughout. He showed a lot of energy, playing a part in all of City’s most threatening moves, with some nice footwork leading to McAteer’s goal. **7**
**Jamie Vardy:** The man of the moment. After missing two chances, he did not lose heart and scored in classic fashion. The run, the finish and the celebration were perfect. What a great way to sign off. **9**
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