‘He deserved the three goals’ – Leicester City’s Rodgers lauds hat-trick hero Iheanacho

Leicester City boss Brendan Rodgers claimed Kelechi Iheanacho deserved his goals after the striker powered the Foxes to a 5-0 win over Sheffield United.

The Nigeria international found the net on three occasions as the King Power Stadium giants continued their march towards a place in next season’s Champions League.

Having scored in his last two league games, the former Manchester City prodigy gave the hosts a 39th minute lead thanks to Jamie Vardy’s assist which ensured he scored in three English top-flight fixtures in a row for the first time.

With Ayoze Perez doubling his team’s advantage in the 64th minute, the Super Eagles star completed his brace with Vardy supplying the assist, before finding the net for the third time with less than 12 minutes to the end of the tie.

Thanks to his brilliance, he has now scored his first career hat-trick in the Premier League and has now been directly involved in 51 goals (37 goals, 14 assists) in 76 starts in all competitions, for Manchester City and Leicester City combined, since his move to England on the back of an impressive outing at the 2013 Fifa U17 World Cup.

Assessing the Nigerian’s performance against the Blades, the Northern Irishman showered encomium on the 24-year-old for settling the English affair.

"He was outstanding, not just in his goals, but his overall work-rate," Rodgers told the club website.

"He had a big responsibility today, in terms of dropping into the space, finding that pocket that was just on the back of the midfield, and I thought he did that very, very well.

"He’s a great guy. He deserved the three goals. He had one or two other opportunities, but we’re all delighted for him."

The former Liverpool and Celtic boss was also full of praise for his team for their tactical intelligence.

"We worked very, very hard in the game," he continued.

"You have to play with an intensity, and we were able to do that. Organisationally, we defended well.

“We were aggressive. We got in contact with them and that’s always the foundation for any good performance.”

Before hosting Manchester City in their next league outing, they face Manchester United in an FA Cup quarter-final showdown on March 21.