Jamie Vardy ruined Claudio Ranieri’s Leicester homecoming with a first-half double to inflict defeat on the manager who helped him win the Premier League title. Watford boss Ranieri was in charge when the Foxes defied odds of 5,000-1 to lift the trophy in 2016 and this was the first time he had returned to the King Power Stadium as an opposing manager. Vardy and Kasper Schmeichel were the only members of the title-winning team in the starting XI here but both played their part as did James Maddison, who scored the opener and created both Vardy’s goals. Jamie Vardy slotted a brace just before half time to put Leicester in charge of the game Vardy celebrated in front of his former manager Claudio Ranieri on the sideline The conditions were treacherous for Leicester and Watford with heavy snowfall Emmanuel Dennis scored to make it 3-2 and fans could hardly see the ball through the snow MATCH FACTS, RATINGS AND TABLE: Leicester (4-2-3-1): Schmeichel 7; Castagne 5.5, Evans 6.5, Soyuncu 6, Thomas 7; Soumare 6, Ndidi 6; Lookman 6.5 (Albrighton 75, 6), Maddison 7.5 (Dewsbury-Hall 88), Barnes 6.5; Vardy 7.5. Subs not used: Ward, Iheanacho, Perez, Amartey, Choudhury, Vestergaard, Daka. Scorers: Maddison 16, Vardy 35, 43, Lookman 68 Booked: Manager: Brendan Rodgers 6.5 Watford (4-1-4-1): Bachmann 6; Femenia 6, Cathcart 5, Ekong 5, Masina 6.5; Louza 5.5 (Tufan 46, 6); Hernandez 6.5, Cleverley 6 (Joao Pedro 46, 6), Sissoko 6.5, Dennis 7 ((Fletcher 72, 6); King 6.5. Subs not used: Elliot, Ngakia, Rose, Gosling, Kabasele, Morris. Scorers: King 30 (pen), Dennis 61 Booked: Manager: Claudio Ranieri 6 Referee: Andrew Madley 6.5 Premier League Premier League Championship League One League Two Scottish Premiership Scottish Div 1 Scottish Div 2 Scottish Div 3 Ligue 1 Serie A La Liga Bundesliga Advertisement With snow falling for most of the match, Watford always looked a threat in attack but were undone by poor defending. After Maddison had put Leicester ahead, Joshua King equalised from the penalty spot before Vardy took over to give Brendan Rodgers’ men a 3-1 half-time lead. Emmanuel Dennis gave Leicester hope on the hour mark only for Ademola Lookman to restore Leicester’s two-goal lead moments later. Ranieri was serenaded by the home fans when he walked from the tunnel and returned the compliment, tapping his chest and raising his hands to acknowledge the reception. Leicester were without a win in the league since October 24 and they needed to start well, Vardy’s near-post effort was saved by stand-in goalkeeper Daniel Bachmann, who had replaced the injured Ben Foster. Watford were also without Ismaila Sarr and Nicolas Nkoulou yet they were confident after beating Manchester United 4-1 a week ago and looked the more composed side early on. At the back, though, they were undone by baffling mistakes. In the 16th minute, Jonny Evans’ long pass should have presented William Ekong with a simple headed clearance. Bizarrely, the centre-back decided to duck, allowing Maddison to control and plant a smart volley beyond Bachmann. Ademola Lookman scored to restore Leicester's two goal lead and they saw out the win Lookman slotted in and will hope to ignite his career at the club from here The goal seemed to galvanise Ranieri’s men. Schmeichel saved well from Dennis and Adam Masina put a free header wide from Tom Cleverley’s free-kick. The Hornets came even closer when Cucho Hernandez’s strike from 25 yards clipped Caglar Soyuncu and left Schmeichel stranded, only for the ball to hit the post and fall into the arms of the grateful Dane. Moments later, though, Schmeichel was collecting the ball from his net. Wilfred Ndidi’s hasty challenge on Dennis was a clear penalty and even though Schmeichel dived the right way, King found the corner. Schmeichel was increasingly agitated, raging at his defence and waving his arms after poor marking at a set piece. Luckily for the home side, they were rather more effective in attack and regained the lead 10 minutes before half-time. Maddison chipped a delightful pass into the path of Vardy, who reached the ball a fraction before Bachmann and lifted it gently over him and into the far corner – his first goal since the 4-2 win over Manchester United here last month. The Foxes celebrated and deserved their lead having seen the 1-0 advantage slip Joshua King scored a penalty to bring the Hornets back on level terms at King Power Stadium James Maddison broke the deadlock with a fine strike to continue his recent form Vardy celebrated in style by sliding on his knees in front of the Watford bench, where Ranieri was standing on the edge of his technical area, and pointing to one of the Leicester coaching team sitting behind the substitutes. That goal arrived when Leicester looked most vulnerable and they seized their moment again just before half-time to move two goals clear. Vardy’s clever movement took him to the near post where he rose unchallenged to head in Maddison’s corner. The 34-year-old should have had a hat-trick before the interval after capitalising on Craig Cathcart’s error but fired too close to Bachmann. By the start of the second half, the snow had started to fall heavily and players were struggling to keep their balance. In the 49th minute, Timothy Castagne’s slip let in Hernandez, whose pass to King looked certain to produce a goal only for Schmeichel to make an important stop. And on the hour mark, another error by Castagne gave Watford a way back. The Belgian dawdled and was robbed by Dennis who ran through and finished superbly, though his celebrations were delayed by a long VAR check for a possible foul. Despite Leicester’s anger, the goal stood. Maddison scored early on to send the home supporters into raptures on Sunday The snow started to settle on the ground and caused havoc for both sides The restart was delayed as Leicester officials with leaf blowers and sweeping brushes cleared the snow from the pitch to make halfway line and the penalty area boundaries visible again. Once the action was underway action, Leicester soon found their fourth. Luke Thomas burst through the snow down the left and released Harvey Barnes, whose low ball across goal gave Lookman a tap-in, as Ranieri and his players protested for a challenge by Castagne on Masina in the build-up. In these conditions, and with these defences, the chances will always come. Late on, substitute Ozan Tufan slid Kiko Femenia’s cross inches wide, to Schmeichel’s huge relief. All rights reserved for this news site (dailymail) and under his responsibility