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James Maddison recently said he wanted people to talk about him again, and if he keeps playing like this, Gareth Southgate will soon be one of them.
The Leicester midfielder put in an exciting performance, scoring two goals – the second was a spectacular curling performance with his weaker left foot – and tortured Brighton to take Brendan Rodgers’ third place, just one point behind leaders Tottenham and runner-up Liverpool.
Both Maddison’s goals came before half-time, on either side of Jamie Vardy’s 12th goal of the season to put the Foxes in full command.
James Maddison (left) and Jamie Vardy (right) both starred in Leicester’s 3-0 win over Brighton
Maddison opened the scoring for the foxes when he turned in James Justin’s cross
The England international beat Mathew Ryan 1-0
After Danny Welbeck missed a great opportunity to put Albion in front, Rodgers switched from three to four and Leicester never looked back.
James Mad was outstanding alongside Maddison on the right.
Maddison faces a lot of competition for attacking midfield roles with England and won his only international game as a substitute in a European Championship qualifier against Montenegro more than a year ago.
But the 24-year-old told SportsmailLast month: “I see England now and I know there is a gap for me” and after that, it will be difficult for Southgate to disagree.
Rodgers has regularly downplayed Leicester’s prospects, but while lacking the depth of the richest clubs, they are a serious force in that form.
Much has been written about injury crises at other leading clubs, but the Foxes have been devoid of Wilfred Ndidi, Ricardo Pereira, Caglar Soyuncu and Timothy Castagne for significant periods this season, and Rodgers has hardly complained.
They are setting an impressive pace in the league and are seeded for the last 32 draw on Monday in the Europa League. The challenge now is to keep it going for an entire season.
Maddison looked in good spirits from the first moments. He sent off an uphill ride, preparing Marc Albrighton for a shot that got too close to Brighton’s keeper Mat Ryan.
Vardy then scored a poacher’s goal to get another superb cross from Justin before the break
Vardy was quick to react and was left alone in the Brighton box to spin the ball past Ryan
Vardy stayed on his side to tap the ball past Ryan and win 2-0 just before the break
But in the early stages, Graham Potter’s men were dangerous, even without Tariq Lamptey, whom Potter said was rested “as a precaution”.
Solly March raced to the left in the sixth minute and Alireza Jahanbaksh’s 20-yard attempt was well saved by Kasper Schmeichel.
Schmeichel made it even better to hold the score three minutes later. Once again March – who was lively from an early age – found a place and released Jahanbaksh, who pushed Welbeck onto the gate. The former Manchester United striker’s goal was spot on, but Schmeichel steered it over the bar with his shoe.
That convinced Rodgers to move to a back four and send Justin into right-back, while Albrighton moved to left midfield. It worked perfectly when Justin Brighton’s left-back Dan Burn repeatedly exposed.
Youri Tielemans once found Justin with a brilliant diagonal ball, and although Justin pushed the ball past Ryan, Vardy was only able to shoot it against the outside of the post from a tight angle.
Leicester’s frustration lasted only a few seconds. Justin’s cross was cleared by Ben White, but only for Maddison, whose strike from 15 yards hit Lewis Dunk and bounced over the arm of Ryan, who hit the ground in anger.
Ryan recovered to make a good save in the half hour after another smooth move at Leicester. Making his first league start since September, Ndidi knocked Justin out with another angled ball and the full-back found Ayoze Perez, whose first attempt seemed destined for the corner but was pushed around the post.
Maddison then scored goal of the game, putting the game out of reach of Brighton
Moments after Vardy’s goal, Maddison spun and curled up in a brilliant shot on Sunday
