Leicester City manager, Brendan Rodgers has hailed the partnership between Nigeria’s Super Eagles striker, Kelechi Iheanacho and Jamie Vardy as a “real threat” to their oppositions.
The duo linked up well at Wembley Stadium on Sunday with Vardy setting up the Nigeria international for the only goal that gave the Foxes a 1-0 victory over Southampton in the FA Cup semi-final.
Iheanacho’s strike was his 10th goal in his last seven appearances for Brendan Rodgers’ side as he continues his fine goalscoring run in all competitions.
The 55th minute strike at Wembley extended the 24-year-old’s record as the highest scoring African in the FA Cup to 14 goals.
When quizzed about Iheanacho’s impact in Sunday’s win, Rodgers told the club website: “He’ll play better in the game. His touch got away from him too many times. Maybe before that would have happened, it would have affected his confidence, but now, he’s at a level where he allows to let those mistakes go.
“Now, he can just get on his game, and what he’s shown is that outside the box and inside the box, he’s there to score goals. Him and Jamie [Vardy], the combination, was a real, real threat. They were both exceptional for us.”
Leicester City have now advanced to their first FA Cup final since 1969 and they will battle Chelsea for the title on May 15.
Meanwhile, Rodgers disclosed how his team overcame Southampton who threw everything at them and how Iheanacho’s opener boosted the Foxes’ confidence.
“I felt that we’d have to defend well in order to get through because they throw everything at the game, Southampton. They put a lot of risk into the game,” he added.
“There’s lots of bodies forward, but we didn’t concede a shot on target, so that shows that the team defended well.
“I felt then, in the second half, once we started moving the ball a little bit quicker, the space opened up and then we obviously got the opportunity to score.
“Once the first goal went in, then our confidence increased even more and I felt we could have added to our lead.”
Packaged by Lanre Olabisi
