Ndiaye double gives Everton perfect Goodison send-off, as Vardy scores farewell 200th goal in Leicester swansong
LONDON, May 19 — Everton said farewell to Goodison Park in style as Iliman Ndiaye's double sealed an emotional 2-0 win over Southampton, while Jamie Vardy brought down the curtain on his Leicester career with his 200th goal for the club in yesterday's 2-0 victory against Ipswich.
Home of the Toffees since 1892, Goodison will play host to Everton's women from next season as the men move to a new 52,000 capacity stadium.
Legends of Everton's past including Wayne Rooney watched on as Ndiaye produced two fine first-half finishes to ensure there was a happy ending to the Goodison era.
Goodison was the scene of Everton's bygone glory years and there is hope that the move to their plush new stadium in Liverpool's docklands can help restore good times after a dark period largely spent battling relegation.
'Extraordinary atmosphere. The crowd were amazing. The job was to win the game and see ourselves out at Goodison in a good light,' Everton boss David Moyes said.
Vardy was making his 500th and final appearance for Leicester after a remarkable 13-year spell including a fairytale Premier League title triumph in 2016 and FA Cup glory in 2021.
The 38-year-old, who started his career in non-league football, will leave at the end of the season and agreed not to play in next weekend's final game of the season to ensure his last Leicester appearance came at the King Power Stadium.
With both Leicester and Ipswich long since condemned to relegation, the full focus was on Vardy.
Banners with Vardy celebrating goals and lifting the FA Cup and Premier League were unfurled on the pitch before kick-off, while thousands of fans waved flags reading 'Thank You Vards'.
'As a symbol of the spirit that defined the most successful era in our history, Jamie rightly carries the title of our greatest of all time,' Leicester chairman Aiyawatt Srivaddhanaprabha said.
Everton fans react in the stands during a commemorative ceremony after the last match for the men's team at Goodison Park. — Reuters pic
Emotional Vardy
Vardy took just 28 minutes to make it an unforgettable day as he sprinted onto James Justin's pass to unleash a typically predatory finish.
Kasey McAteer bagged his first Premier League goal in the 68th minute, firing home to ensure Vardy would bow out on a winning note.
In a fitting finale, a visibly emotional Vardy was given a guard of honour by his team-mates and a standing ovation from the fans when he was substituted in the second half.
'I've enjoyed every minute of this. I look forward to keeping an eye on the club I love,' Vardy said.
'From the bottom of my heart, thank you for taking myself and my family in as your own. I hope I've repaid you.'
Nottingham Forest won 2-1 at West Ham to keep alive their hopes of playing in the Champions League for the first time since 1980-81.
Nuno Espirito Santo's side were gifted the lead in the 11th minute when West Ham keeper Alphonse Areola miscued a pass to Guido Rodriguez inside his own penalty area and Morgan Gibbs-White slotted into the empty net.
Gibbs-White celebrated by holding up a shirt with Taiwo Awoniyi's name in tribute to the Forest striker, who needed urgent abdominal surgery and was kept unconscious to aid his recovery after being injured against Leicester last weekend.
Nikola Milenkovic doubled Forest's advantage with a close-range finish from Anthony Elanga's 61st minute free-kick.
Jarrod Bowen's 86th minute strike came too late to deny seventh-placed Forest, who are one point outside the top five and host fourth-placed Chelsea in their last game next weekend.
'It's great. Let's enjoy it, it's going to be a good week for us. If we'd thought in the beginning of the season that we'd be playing to play in the Champions League we'd sign it,' Nuno said.
Fulham won 3-2 at west London rivals Brentford to remain in the hunt for a top-eight finish.
Raul Jimenez netted for Fulham with a 16th minute header before Bryan Mbeumo hauled the hosts level six minutes later.
Bernd Leno saved Mbeumo's spot-kick before Yoane Wissa prodded Brentford ahead in the 43rd minute.
But Tom Cairney's 68th minute equaliser was followed by Harry Wilson's long-range rocket two minutes later. — AFP
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