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Andre Gray ’s goal in added time consigned Brendan Rodgers to defeat on his Premier League return after Jamie Vardy gave Leicester City hope against Watford .
The former Celtic manager joined Leicester this week and saw his side go behind after just four minutes, Troy Deeney getting in front of Kasper Schmeichel to nod in from close-range.
Large parts of the game passed without a trace, but Leicester eventually grew into the contest and found themselves back on level terms through Vardy. The forward collected Youri Tielemans’ perfectly-weighted pass with one touch and finished it with the next.
Rodgers was minutes away from leaving his former club with a point, but Gray collected Deeney’s pass and slotted home the winner in added time.
The new manager may not have taken as many positives from the game as he would have liked. A number of players struggled to get involved creatively and they conceded twice having not allowed Watford many clear chances.
Show all 23 1 /23Player ratings from Watford vs Leicester Player ratings from Watford vs Leicester Watford 2-1 Leicester
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Player ratings from Watford vs Leicester Ben Foster - 7 out of 10 Showed incredible bravery to quickly come off his line and prevent Vardy from scoring with a header. On the way to making the save he collided heads with the forward but was able to continue after a short spell of treatment.
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Player ratings from Watford vs Leicester Daryl Janmaat - 7 Did a reasonable job at right-back but did not have a great deal to defend on that flank.
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Player ratings from Watford vs Leicester Craig Cathcart - 6 Did fairly well alongside Mariappa, an unlikely Premier League defensive combination in 2019.
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Player ratings from Watford vs Leicester Adrian Mariappa - 7 Put in a couple of last-ditch tackles and decent blocks in dangerous areas. Caught Vardy late as he raced away and escaped with a yellow card.
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Player ratings from Watford vs Leicester Jose Holebas - 6 Javi Gracia had really improved Holebas’ Watford performance during his time at Vicarage Road. He remained disciplined at the back and was helpful in attacks.
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Player ratings from Watford vs Leicester Abdoulaye Doucoure - 6 Helped run the middle of the park against an opposition with a midfield to match most. Has had more influential games in a Watford shirt.
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Player ratings from Watford vs Leicester Will Hughes - 7 Another impressive display from the midfielder. Kept things flowing in attacks and helped break up Leicester’s play. Industrious.
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Player ratings from Watford vs Leicester Etienne Capoue - 6 Worked very hard for his team and was willing to do the dirty, unseen work to keep Watford going.
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Player ratings from Watford vs Leicester Gerard Deulofeu - 7 Built on his midweek hat-trick with an early assist for Deeney. His fierce cross from the byline needed the smallest of touches from the forward to take it beyond the helpless goalkeeper.
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Player ratings from Watford vs Leicester Roberto Pereyra - 6 Has struggled to replicate his impressive form at the beginning of the season and did little against Leicester to suggest he will return to that level soon.
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Player ratings from Watford vs Leicester Troy Deeney - 7 Continued a steady run of scoring to put Watford ahead in the fourth minute with a close-range header. Was quiet after. Turned provider for Andre Gray and set-up the late goal.
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Player ratings from Watford vs Leicester Kasper Schmeichel - 6 Will have been frustrated to have been beaten from close range so early, having just kept Deeney out with a good save.
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Player ratings from Watford vs Leicester Wes Morgan - 6 Great block to deny Deulofeu early on. Was not tested a great deal afterwards and won his physical battles.
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Player ratings from Watford vs Leicester Jonny Evans - 6 Grew into the game and is becoming one of Leicester’s best central defenders.
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Player ratings from Watford vs Leicester Ricardo Pereira - 6 Worked hard to get forward as often as possible but was little use in the final third. Seemed to struggle to adapt to the new way Rodgers wants to manage him. Watch this space.
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Player ratings from Watford vs Leicester Harry Maguire - 6 Has been on a slow downward-spiral since the dizzy heights of the World Cup. Another eventful display and could have conceded a penalty late in the game.
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Player ratings from Watford vs Leicester Wilfried Ndidi - 6 Was his usual busy self in midfield and helped Leicester recycle possession and quickly work the ball forward.
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Player ratings from Watford vs Leicester Youri Tielemans - 7 Provided a fine defence-splitting pass to set Vardy on his way to level the score.
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Player ratings from Watford vs Leicester Ben Chilwell - 6 Got into some promising positions in the final third but not enough of his crosses found a player in blue.
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Player ratings from Watford vs Leicester James Maddison - 5 Leicester created very little and that’s not a great look for their prime creator. A couple openings were not taken and the passing was not at precise as it could have been.
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Player ratings from Watford vs Leicester Harvey Barnes - 5 Got into some good forward positions but and shorts or crosses never really troubled Watford.
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Player ratings from Watford vs Leicester Jamie Vardy - 7 Levelled the score with a classic Jamie Vardy finish. He collected Tielemans’ through pass with on touch and finished the move with his second.
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Click through the gallery above to see how we rated the players.
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