Ranieri delighted with Leicester response

Claudio Ranieri hailed the character of his Leicester City side as they got back to winning ways in the Premier League against Norwich City.

Jamie Vardy’s penalty and Jeffrey Schlupp’s fine goal on the counter-attack secured maximum points at Carrow Road, despite Dieumerci Mbokani’s strike for the home side.

Leicester suffered their first defeat of the season at home to Arsenal last time out and Ranieri was delighted with the response from his players.

“We responded very well, showed good character, a good performance,” he told Sky Sports. “In the first half we created a lot of chances to score, but also in the second half.

“It was a battle but I enjoyed it, we were very concentrated, Kasper Schmeichel made two great saves, we conceded one goal but we had six, seven chances to score ourselves.

“We know Norwich want to keep possession and open the space and we were ready to transition.”

Vardy’s penalty proved contentious as Sebastien Bassong appeared to make very little contact with the England forward, but Ranieri was in no doubt.

“Yes it was a penalty,” he said, before adding: “Jamie was good but everybody had a good performance.”

Midfielder Danny Drinkwater was full of praise for Vardy’s performance after he took his Premier League tally to seven for the season.

“He’s a key player for us. He can come out of nowhere, he was the difference,” he said.

“We stuck at it, managed to roll sleeves up and grind it out. It’s a good feeling after such a second half.

“It was massive, the gaffer said we needed to bounce back and show a bit of character and we showed what we’re about. It’s a good team to be in.”