Vestergaard Hails Leicester's 'Willing' Defensive Effort

- Leicester City beat Wolverhampton Wanderers 1-0 at King Power Stadium on Saturday
- In front of a capacity crowd, Jamie Vardy's solitary strike secured all three points on Filbert Way
- Defender Jannik Vestergaard came off the bench to help the Foxes secure the result
- The former Southampton man was thrilled to contribute to a memorable occasion

The former Southampton centre-back was called upon by manager Brendan Rodgers in the 62nd minute of a fraught 1-0 victory over Wolverhampton Wanderers, with the Foxes protecting the one-goal lead provided by Jamie Vardy's first-half effort.

Wolves attacked in waves during the latter moments at King Power Stadium, but Vestergaard, alongside his new defensive colleagues, were able to hold Bruno Lage's visitors at bay to get Leicester off to a winning start in 2021/22.

"I don’t think I was expecting to play as much as I did but I’m happy to come in and be a part of the team, get to know everyone," the 29-year-old Denmark international told LCFC TV at full-time. It was a chance get to know King Power Stadium as a home [player].

"We got the win and had to dig in deep a bit towards the end. We got in a lot of important blocks. It’s a very good way to start the season I think.

"It was a good performance in the first half and we deserved the lead. In the second half, Wolves charged forward a bit more and maybe risked it a bit more. We had a couple of counter attacks where we maybe could have killed the game, but we didn’t. We had to dig in deep.

"We put in a couple of good blocks, which shows we’ve got a lot of will to win and willingness to sacrifice and suffer, which I think is a very good trait. For my first game, in my first couple of games, it’s been tremendous."

Vestergaard hopes the experience will stand him in good stead as he looks to settle in at the Club after becoming the fourth new face this summer. 

"Football’s a lot about relationships," he added. "I’ve had one day with the team, so obviously that’s something that needs working on, those relationships. I thought we defended together. We had midfielders coming down and making crucial blocks. It’s just a great team ethic, which I’m proud to be a part of it."

Vestergaard also paid tribute both to the winning goalscorer Vardy and the Blue Army, for their incredible backing: "That’s probably one of the very good things about coming here… not having to play against him! He’s just always so dangerous and always giving defenders so much work.

"He showed his class again today. What a goal! It’s a 1-0 win so it much feel pretty good for him. We needed some percentages from the crowd today and I thought they were there, cheering on for tackles and blocks and stuff. They helped us to see out the win."