Jamie Vardy rediscovered his Midas touch to extend Leicester City’s fairytale season as they regained top spot in the Premier League with a 3-0 win at home to Stoke on Saturday.

The England striker had not scored for seven matches during which Claudio Ranieri’s surprise package had managed only one win and had crashed out of the FA Cup.

But Vardy slid home his 16th goal of the season from a tight angle to complete a miserable afternoon for Stoke City, who lost skipper Ryan Shawcross to injury.

Danny Drinkwater, one of the unsung heroes of Leicester’s remarkable success story, had opened the scoring three minutes before the break with his first goal of the season.

Drinkwater then turned provider with the 66th minute pass which unlocked the Stoke defence and allowed Vardy to round Jack Butland and apply the finishing touch.

To crown a morale-boosting victory for Ranieri’s men, substitute Leonardo Ulloa stabbed home a third in the closing stages after a flash of brilliance from Riyad Mahrez.

While Leicester can carry on dreaming of the title and possible Champions League football from their perch on top of the Premier League, Stoke were left to reflect on a miserable afternoon in which a recurrence of a back injury for Shawcross was a major concern.

After a fairly uneventful opening to the game, it sprung to life with chances at both ends in quick succession, although it was Leicester who were closer to breaking the deadlock.

Within seconds of Jon Walters having a scent of an opportunity at one end, after latching onto Erik Pieters’ pass, Vardy had an instinctive shot on the turn following Marc Albrighton’s cross.