Brendan Rodgers Applauds Ndidi, Iheanacho, others for victory

New manager Brendan Rodgers watched from the stands as Demarai Gray and Jamie Vardy scored to seal Leicester a 2-1 win over Brighton in the Premier League on Tuesday night.

The duo of Nigerian internationals, Wilfred Ndidi and Kelechi Iheanacho were brilliant in their impact as the team clinched their first victory in Pre,ier League since New Year.

While Ndidi was on the pitch of play from the kick-off to the final whistle, Kelechi was brought in for Vardy before the centre referee blew the final whistle.

Rodgers received a warm welcome from the Leicester support as he took his seat at the King Power Stadium – just an hour after he was officially announced as the new Leicester boss – and Gray gave the hosts the initiative with a tidy finish in the 10th minute.

Vardy doubled Leicester’s lead in the 63rd minute with a driven strike from close range, moments before Davy Propper pulled a goal back for the visitors (66).

Although Brighton attempted to rally back late on, with a Glenn Murray half-volley hitting the side netting, Leicester held on to their narrow lead.

The result means Leicester move up into 11th. For Brighton, their wait for their first Premier League win in 2019 continues as they remain in 16th – three points above the relegation zone on 27 points.

Leicester goalscorer Demarai Gray: “We’ve played well but haven’t got the results recently but today we knew we just had to get the result – we stuck together to get the points.

“We know we need to work on keeping it tight and today we did that although they had a few chances.

“We knew this was a big game – we had an objective and that was getting the three points – so I was glad to contribute and hopefully we can take this into Saturday.

“We’re all looking forward to working with the new manager. I’ve watched him manage a lot of top sides and what he’s done with young players has been good especially. As a club we’ve got a good balance of experienced players and good young players so we’re looking forward to starting.”

Premier League Scores & Schedule

Cardiff 0-3 Everton (Live) – Sigurdsson double gives Everton 2-0 lead at Cardiff

Huddersfield 1-0 Wolves (Live) – Mounie earns Huddersfield first win under Siewert

Leicester 2-0 Brighton (Live) – Gray & Vardy give Leicester 2-1 lead against Brighton

Newcastle 2-0 Burnley (Live) – Schar & Longstaff put Newcastle 2-0 up v Burnley

• Rodgers named Leicester manager