Vardy wants to be at Leicester "for a long time"

Jamie Vardy insisted he plans to stay at Leicester after his wonder goal inspired the Foxes to a 2-0 win over Liverpool.

The forward is in talks over a new deal and marked the discussions with a stunning opening strike before wrapping up a comfortable win with his 18th goal of the season.

His brace at the King Power Stadium, in front of watching England boss Roy Hodgson, kept the Foxes three points ahead of Manchester City at the top of the Barclays Premier League.

Vardy volleyed in from 30 yards and ran riot over Liverpool defender Dejan Lovren having regained top form following groin surgery.

Before the match it emerged talks had begun over a deal until 2019, and Vardy said he intends to stay.

He told Sky Sports: “It’s nothing people don’t know, I’d like to be here for a long time.

“I don’t (think I’ve scored better). I had been looking all game and he (Simon Mignolet) was quite far off his line. As soon as Riyad (Mahrez) had played it through it’s bounced quite high and I’ve got no support so I just took my chance and luckily it’s gone over the top of him.”

Boss Claudio Ranieri added: “It’s incredible what Vardy did. He watched the ball, watched the opponent and watched the keeper. It’s amazing, fantastic. This opened the match.”

Leicester dominated for long spells and deserved their victory but Ranieri admitted they face a different test when they go to their top of the table clash at the Etihad at the weekend.

“On Saturday we have to run, run and run a lot,” he said.

“It’s important to see my players fight and try to win. We know sooner or later we’ll lose a match but it’s important how we lose. If there is a great goal, well done, but we have to fight. If Manchester City fight more than us, well done to them.”

Defeat left Liverpool floundering in eighth, six points from fifth-placed Manchester United.

They rarely threatened and Christian Benteke had another anonymous outing from the bench to further cast doubt over his suitability in boss Jurgen Klopp’s team.

The German felt his players could have taken something from the game but ultimately their decision making cost them.

“We had opportunities in the box but we didn’t find the right decision often enough,” he said.

“The longer the game was we didn’t get cooler, the decisions didn’t get better. We had the ball in their box and didn’t shoot. One second later Vardy shoots from 35 yards and the ball was in. This says most about the game. I don’t feel too good.”

But Klopp took time to acknowledge Vardy’s brilliant opener, where he latched onto Mahrez’s long ball to fire over Mignolet.

He added: “It’s nice to be in a stadium when Jamie Vardy makes the goal of the month but, in an ideal world, not when you’re the manager of the other team. It made the difference.”