Ruud van Nistelrooy lavished praise on Jamie Vardy for his selflessness and quality in Leicester City’s dramatic 2-2 draw with Brighton, admitting he might not have made the same decision in his own playing days.
With City trailing 2-1, Vardy equalised in the 86th minute before delivering a moment of brilliance in injury time.
Faced with Brighton goalkeeper Bart Verbruggen, Vardy resisted the temptation to go for glory, instead providing Bobby De Cordova-Reid with an unmissable opportunity to secure a last-gasp point.
Van Nistelrooy, renowned for his predatory instincts as a player, acknowledged the decision showcased Vardy’s composure and team-first mentality.
“That was a brilliant moment,” van Nistelrooy said. “So late in the game, the 91st minute, when you have the calmness and the composure to decide on these things, that’s absolutely top class, and we’re happy we have that in our team.
“If you don’t pass, you have to score. He made sure we were going to get that equaliser. I think he felt we deserved that. If I would have passed it? I don’t know, I’ll have to look back at the goal.
“But the performance of the whole team put him in position. If I relive the second goal, where we were pressing high, we won the duel, and played forward from there, and we went for goal from the turnover. That’s where the ball ended up with Jamie.
“I liked that. I enjoyed that, the whole sequence. That’s why, as a team, we put him in the position there, and that’s where we want to put players who can make the difference for us.”
The late equaliser earned Leicester a vital point, making it four from two games under Van Nistelrooy in his first week at the helm. The Dutchman felt the Brighton performance was an improvement on their win over West Ham earlier in the week.
“We were realistic after the West Ham game,” he said.
“We were very effective in scoring three goals, but we let West Ham in way too much. We acknowledged it. Today the performance was way better than Tuesday, in that sense.
“We controlled the game and put a lot of pressure on Brighton, who are one of the best footballing sides in this league. That’s a compliment to the team.
“We didn’t give a lot of chances away and scored another two goals. We got only one point today, with a better performance than Tuesday, but it’s a silly old game, isn’t it?”
