Vardy double sinks Preston and seals title as Leicester crown top-flight return

Enzo Maresca has changed a lot to take Leicester back to the Premier League at the first time of asking but it seemed inevitable Jamie Vardy would have the final say, scoring a double in a 3-0 win to help secure the Championship title at Preston.

It was a straightforward night for the visitors as Vardy built the platform for victory before Kasey McAteer confirmed that the second tier’s best were going to conquer a league they never wanted to be in. Maresca has rejuvenated the club and earned the right to test himself against the best managers the country has to offer.

Leicester did not need to kick a ball to secure their return to the Premier League, the supposed promised land of VAR and profitability and sustainability rules. Leeds’ capitulation against QPR on Friday was enough to allow corks to be popped at the training ground on Saturday morning.

Clear minds were needed to complete the final task of the season: sealing the Championship title.

In truth, it should have been won a long time ago, but a dip in form has led to Maresca’s side stumbling to the line, not that anyone is complaining considering the 100-point mark remained in sight as Leicester arrived at Deepdale. It is a tough league to escape, especially given everyone else was desperate to stop a club that won the Premier League eight years ago.

Blue and white balloons floated on to the pitch from the packed Bill Shankly Kop hosting the Leicester fans as the two teams emerged from the tunnel. There was a party atmosphere for those travelling from the east Midlands. There was a brief delay as a few stragglers were popped and an errant beach ball was removed: Leicester were not on their holidays just yet as the drizzle descended in Lancashire.

Leicester played like a tribute act in the early stages; the ideas that Maresca’s dynamic football are based on were there but everything was being done at half pace. The first sign of a future Premier League side came after a quarter of an hour when Yunus Akgun spotted a trademark Vardy run behind the defence, but his shot was repelled by Freddie Woodman.

Vardy hosted the title party in 2016 and the port order was being prepped when he spun in the box and scuffed a shot that trickled into the corner beyond a confused Woodman, who could not understand how the striker had struck it so poorly. Not that anyone in the away end cared as the pyrotechnics went off.

The celebrations were fortified when Wout Faes wandered into the box, showed dazzling feet to bamboozle Preston and fired against the base of the post. If Woodman thought he had got lucky, he soon realised he was mistaken as Vardy took great pleasure in trying to smash the ball through the net for his 18th league goal of the season. The scarves swung behind the goal amid a mist of blue smoke and everyone knew the job was almost done.

Vardy’s future is uncertain with the 37-year-old’s contract running out at the end of the season but, as the only remaining Premier League winner in the Leicester squad, it was fitting he was at the heart of taking them back to the top. Like eight years ago, barring a miracle, he will once again be the club’s top scorer and deserved the chants of “sign him up” from the Leicester faithful. There were further exultations when McAteer headed home the third.

Vardy was substituted with a quarter of an hour remaining to ruin his chances of finishing with a hat-trick but there was no room for sentimentality. The squad has won this title, not one individual.

Maresca was not too worried about expiring contracts, taking time out to wave when demanded. It was a cruise for Leicester in the end and the joy will be savoured for a few nights, ignoring that pesky profitability and sustainability charge hanging over them. There will be a few parties over the coming days, with another pencilled in at the King Power Stadium for the final day of the season.