Leicester City thought they could break Premier League record, says hat-trick hero Vardy

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Leicester City thought they could break Premier League record, says hat-trick hero Vardy image

Jamie Vardy revealed Leicester City felt they could break Manchester United's Premier League record for the biggest ever win as they equalled the mark with a 9-0 rout on the road against 10-man Southampton.

The Foxes went second in the table as they achieved the biggest away win in Premier League history, surpassing Man Utd's 8-1 win at Nottingham Forest in 1999, but fell just short of bettering the Red Devils 9-0 win against Ipswich Town in 1995.

Vardy and Ayoze Perez both secured hat-tricks, with Ben Chilwell, Youri Tielemans and James Maddison also scoring as the Saints struggled to defend once Ryan Bertrand was sent off early in the first half.

Vardy, whose 94th minute penalty and third goal equalled the record, said defender Jonny Evans, formerly of Man Utd, made the team aware of what they could achieve once Perez scored the sixth in the 57th minute.

"Well we actually found out [about the record] at 6-0 when Jonny Evans came sprinting over, saying if we carry on doing what we're doing we can get the record," Vardy told Sky Sports.

"We've gone all the way to the end and managed to do it.

"It's a great victory, a great performance for the lads and I’m absolutely buzzing for the fans.

“I think that was a complete performance. We know when you’ve got 10 men it can be made difficult but we also knew if we kept to our game plan we could cause them a lot of problems.

“Like you see from the result, credit to the boys, great win.”

Vardy's hat-trick elevated him to Premier League top scorer with nine goals, above Sergio Aguero, Tammy Abraham (both eight) and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (seven).

The England international is already a Premier League winner with the Foxes under Claudio Ranieri in 2015-16, but says this Brendan Rodgers Leicester team is a contrast.

"I think football-wise, it’s different, there was a lot of counter-attacking when we won the league," he added.

"You saw from tonight that we can attack but keep the ball really well, at pace, and we can hurt anyone."

Leicester's next league match also comes on the road against Crystal Palace on November 3 after they take on Burton Albion in the Carabao Cup on Tuesday.

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