Leicester City struck late on to beat Sheffield United 2-1 at Bramall Lane on Sunday afternoon as Jamie Vardy scored a last-minute winner to send the Foxes up to third in the Premier League table.

The visitors dominated throughout the game and deservedly got their second goal, leaving their opponents Sheffield United still winless and at the bottom of the table after their tenth loss of the season.

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Manager Brendan Rodgers spoke to the media after the game in his post-match press conference.

On the deserved victory

Leicester controlled possession throughout the game and it seemed as if a goal was always going to come. It did eventually arrive, albeit late on, giving the Foxes an important three points.

Rodgers assessed the game and gave his thoughts on a huge win for his team. He said: “It was a win we deserved. It was always going to be tight. We needed that final pass and it came late on. After a tough week of traveling, it was a fantastic win for us.

On the late winner

James Maddison picked up a loose ball in the middle of the pitch and the moment he slid through Vardy, the Blades knew they were going to concede.

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After plenty of pressure for the entirety of the second half, this was how Leicester finally broke through and Rodgers was happy with the goal. 

“We kept going. We've scored a lot in the second half this season. But we punished them, James' pass was sublime and you know when Jamie's away like that he’s one of the best in Europe. I'm delighted and we deserved it."

On Ayoze Perez

Rodgers’ side took the lead in the first half thanks to a goal from the returning Ayoze Perez. The Spaniard started for the first time since the Foxes’ loss to Aston Villa and made a big impact on the game, getting involved in a lot of the attacking play.

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The Leicester boss was full of praise for Perez after his impressive performance. He said: "His attitude has been first class. We asked him to play with that intensity and when he does that he’s a very good player."

On defending set-pieces

Despite dominating and taking the lead early on, Leicester let Sheffield United straight back into the game. A corner was floated in and Oli McBurnie beat three Foxes players to the ball to head home with the Blades only shot of the first half.

This was the seventh goal that Rodgers’ side have conceded from set-pieces this season which is the highest in the Premier League and the manager discussed this problem post-game and tried to identify why they continue to concede in these situations.

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"You don’t need to be a rocket scientist to realise the players we’ve lost are players of profile,” he explained. “Castagne, Soyuncu, and Ndidi give you the ability to defend the box better. But I’d be disappointed if we don’t improve on that aspect with all those players back."

On injuries

Leicester may have won on Sunday afternoon but they still have injury problems that are yet to be sorted. Wilfred Ndidi returned to the squad however Caglar Soyuncu, Ricardo Pereira and Timothy Castagne all remain out.

Rodgers gave an update on the injury list. He said: "Today was too early for Cags to come in but thankfully it's not as bad as feared. Hopefully not too long. Ricardo has a slight issue with his groin but it’ll keep him out for 10 days to 2 weeks."

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