Albrighton: Incredible To Score The Winner
- Match-winner Marc Albrighton reflects on Leicester City's 2-1 win at Norwich City on Saturday
- Albrighton struck with 14 minutes to go after Jamie Vardy's opener was pegged back by Teemu Pukki
- The 31-year-old was delighted to play such a prominent role in the Foxes' second win of 2021/22
- He also credited the squad's resilience in East Anglia to grind out a result in testing circumstances
Jamie Vardy's early opener was levelled by Teemu Pukki's penalty just before half-time and, while the Canaries created opportunities at Carrow Road, it was Albrighton's 76th-minute strike which settled a fraught encounter.
It also means City go into the international break with two wins from matches in the Premier League so far and, speaking afterwards, Leicester's match-winning No.11 paid tribute to the build-up play which allowed him to net his 16th goal for the Club.
"I’m delighted to, first of all, get the three points," the 31-year-old told LCFC TV at full-time. "That was the main thing today after Monday night’s disappointment. We had to bounce back and get the win.
"That was the main thing, but to get the goal is incredible for personally. It’s obviously not something that happens every week, but it was a great bit of quality throughout the team to get the ball to me.
Three Points For City At Carrow Road
Marc Albrighton and Jamie Vardy find the net in a 2-1 triumph against Norwich City.
"The midfield play was brilliant to get the ball to Vards (Jamie Vardy) and then his weight of pass and his vision was absolutely incredible. My job is just to stick it in the net once it gets to me. Luckily, I’ve done that today and it’s won us the game."
Albrighton also revealed that Vardy went into the game promising to provide an assist for Albrighton – a prophecy which ultimately came true.
"On the bus on the way here, he actually did say that he was going to lay one on a plate for me today," the former Aston Villa winger added. "He did call it before the game! It has come true, so I don’t know if he’s psychic or what but Vards has got a lot of quality.
"Even at the age he’s at now, he just doesn’t seem to age when he’s on the pitch. He’s had to change his game in certain areas and passes like that, the weight of pass will go unnoticed probably, but not by people that know the game and especially his team-mates."
Albrighton was particularly pleased with the resilience which City demonstrated in East Anglia, admitting some of their football was not as free-flowing as usual, but stressing the importance of grinding out results in those circumstances.
"It was crucial," he explained. "We showed in the Wolves game… in the second half, we didn’t play as well as we would’ve liked, but our spirit was there. Our desire was there to hold on for the win.
"Again, today, our spirit I thought was there in abundance. We probably didn’t play as well as we could. I’ll be the first to say that. We were probably sloppy at times, but if we can tidy that side up, we’ve got the spirit and the desire and we’ve got the work ethic.
"There are improvements to be made, but they’ll be made on the training field and we’ve got a couple of weeks now until the next game and we’ll be ready.
"Obviously everyone wants to win their first three games going into the international break, but it’s so hard to do that in this league. With the games we’ve had and the players we’ve had out injured, it’s been unsettled, but we’re happy to be on six points."