Match Report Leicester City (1) 3-1 (0) Fulham Premier League Match Day 30 at King Power Stadium Saturday 9th March 2018    KO: 15:00 Referee: David Coote (Nottinghamshire)

Fulham striker Floyd Ayité

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Fulham pushed closer to relegation as Jamie Vardy reached a century of goals for the Foxes and Brendan Rodgers secured his first win as Leicester City manager.

Vardy was the key figure throughout, unselfishly setting up a simple first-half finish for Youri Tielemans before rising to the occasion after substitute Floyd Ayite's scrappy equaliser for the Cottagers after the break.

He raced on to James Maddison's perfect through ball to put Leicester back in front with 12 minutes left, then got his 100th goal for the club when he turned a finish past Sergio Rico after 86 minutes.

Fulham, under the interim management of Scott Parker, had no answer and this is a defeat that leaves them cut adrift from safety and surely on their way back into the Championship after just one season in the top flight.

Fulham's fate is surely sealed after this latest defeat - 13 points from safety and 11 behind Cardiff City above them after the Bluebirds' home win over West Ham.

And performances like that produced in the first half on Saturday are why they are where they are - players strolling around without any urgency, seemingly oblivious to the seriousness of their position.

Match Stats	Fulham	Leicester City:
Goals	(1) 3	1 (0)
Scorers	Tielemans 21	Ayite 51
	Vardy 78
	Vardy 86
,
Goal attempts	18	6
On target	8	3
Shooting Accuracy	44%	50%
Possession	53%	47%
Passes	522	465
Passes Success	85%	82%
Crosses	16	14
Crosses Success	19%	7%
Corners	6	5
Tackles	26	26
Tackles Success	62%	69%
Saves	2	5
Fouls	9	13
Offsides	1	1
Yellows	0	2
Reds	0	0
source: SkySports

Ayite's equaliser prompted a show of fight, but in the end cheap goals were conceded and relegation is the price they will pay.

This cannot be put at Parker's door.

The damage was done in a summer of scattergun recruitment, then poor results under Slavisa Jokanovic and Claudio Ranieri.

It is now merely a question of when their return to the Championship is confirmed - and then it is a question of whether Parker is given the full-time task of rediscovering a club who have lost their way.

Vardy's relationship with Claude Puel was always a bone of contention before the Frenchman's sacking - but he has demonstrated his continued importance in the first two games of the Rodgers era.

Here, and indeed when he scored in Rodgers' first game at Watford, Vardy has made the sort of impact that means he will figure prominently as the new manager formulates his early plans.

Another stylish performer was Belgium midfielder Youri Tielemans, on loan from Monaco, and he is the sort of player Rodgers relishes having.

The 21-year-old ran the show in the first half, not just scoring a relatively simple goal but demonstrating the sort of vision that will make him a hot property whether he stays at Leicester or not.

Fulham have lost 14 of their 16 Premier League away matches this season (W0 D2 L14), conceding 40 goals.

The Cottagers have lost their past 18 away top-flight matches when they have conceded the first goal.

Fulham's Ayite became only the second Togolese player to score a Premier League goal, after Emmanuel Adebayor (97 goals between 2006 and 2016).

Man of the match - Jamie Vardy (Leicester)

Fulham manager Scott Parker: "Individual errors have cost us the game and have been a massive part of this year.

"It's going to be really, really tough. I sit here with realism.

I understand the situation. I'm not blinded by that.

"The message remains that as long as it's mathematically possible we fight - but we know it's going to be really tough.

" What's next? Leicester travel to Burnley on Saturday, 16 March (15:00 GMT), while Fulham welcome Liverpool to Craven Cottage the following day (14:15 GMT).

Leicester City: Schmeichel, Pereira, Evans, Maguire, Chilwell, Tielemans (Ghezzal 72), Ndidi, Gray (Okazaki 72), Maddison (Mendy 81), Barnes, Vardy

Unused substitutes: Ward, Morgan, Fuchs, Iheanacho

Goals:
Tielemans 21 (left footed shot from the centre of the box to the centre of the goal. Assisted by Jamie Vardy.)
Vardy 78 (right footed shot from the right side of the box to the bottom left corner. Assisted by James Maddison with a through ball following a fast break.)
Vardy 86 (left footed shot from the centre of the box to the bottom right corner. Assisted by Harvey Barnes.)

Fulham: Rico, Odoi, Nordtveit, Ream, Bryan, Chambers, McDonald (Vietto 82), Cairney, Babel (Seri 67), Mitrovic, R Sessegnon (Ayite 45)

Unused substitutes: Fabri, Le Marchand, Christie, Zambo Anguissa

Goal:
Ayite 51 (left footed shot from the centre of the box to the centre of the goal. Assisted by Håvard Nordtveit.)

Booked: Babel (55,f), Bryan (60,f)

Referee: David Coote (Nottinghamshire)

Attendance: 32,017