When you think about some of the records that have stood in the Premier League, there are a few that feel like they might never be beaten. One of those was Ruud van Nistelrooy's record of scoring in 10 consecutive Premier League matches, set back in 2003.

Fast forward 12 years and Jamie Vardy, a player who had been in non-league football not that long before, had matched it. One more game, one more goal, and the opposition happened to be Manchester United — the club Van Nistelrooy had set the record with.

It almost felt too perfect. Vardy only needed one goal to make the record his own. It took him 24 minutes.

This Wasn't Supposed to Be Leicester's Season

Looking back now, it is easy to forget how strange Leicester's season felt at the time. We know what happened in the end and we know they won the league, but in November 2015 people were still waiting for them to fall away.

A few months earlier they had been fighting relegation. Now, under Claudio Ranieri, they were taking points off big teams and going into games genuinely believing they could win. Right in the middle of it was Jamie Vardy.

The week before, he had scored against Newcastle to equal Van Nistelrooy's record. Ten games in a row. Now came Manchester United.

The whole buildup to the match had started to become about one thing: could he score again?

The Perfect Opponent

You probably could not have picked a better opponent for the story. Van Nistelrooy had set the record in a Manchester United shirt, and now Vardy had the chance to break it against United themselves.

Every time Leicester won the ball and looked forward, you knew who they wanted to find. Vardy was quick, direct and aggressive in the way he played, and Leicester did not need to dominate possession for him to be dangerous.

If anything, space in behind suited him even more. Give him something to run onto and he was a nightmare to deal with. That was exactly how the record-breaking goal came.

Twenty-Four Minutes

Manchester United had a corner. Leicester dealt with it and suddenly the ball was heading the other way. Christian Fuchs looked up and played it into the space ahead of Vardy, who was already moving.

That was probably the thing defenders struggled with most that season. They knew what he wanted to do, but stopping it was another matter. Matteo Darmian was trying to get back and David de Gea came out.

Vardy opened his body and finished low past him. Leicester City 1–0 Manchester United.

That was it. Eleven games in a row. The record was his.

The Celebration Said Enough

You could tell from the reaction that this was not just another goal. Vardy headed towards the corner and the whole ground went with him. Everyone knew what had just happened — his teammates, the crowd and even the Manchester United players.

For weeks, every Leicester game had slowly turned into another chapter of the same story. Would Vardy score again? And again? And again?

By this point, it had become a bit ridiculous. Now there was no one left to catch. He had the record on his own.

From Non-League to the Record Books

This is probably the part that makes the whole thing even better. Vardy did not come through as one of those players everyone expected to become a star. He had been playing non-league football.

Stocksbridge Park Steels. Halifax. Fleetwood. Then Leicester. A few years later, he was breaking a Premier League scoring record. That rise is what makes the story stand out.

By the time he scored against United, he was not just having a good run either. He was leading the Golden Boot race and looked like one of the most dangerous strikers in the league. It had gone from being a nice story to something much more serious.

It Was Such a Vardy Goal

The goal itself could hardly have suited him more. If someone had asked you to imagine a typical Jamie Vardy goal from that season, it probably would have looked exactly like this.

Win the ball, play it early, Vardy runs in behind, defenders chase, goalkeeper comes out, finish. Nothing complicated.

No long passing move and no possession for possession's sake. Just direct football and a striker who knew exactly where the space was.

United Get Back Into It

Manchester United had not created a huge amount, but just before half-time they found an equaliser. Daley Blind delivered a corner and Bastian Schweinsteiger got on the end of it. 1–1.

It came right before the break, which was perfect timing for United. From Leicester's point of view, it was frustrating because they had been ahead and had the crowd right behind them.

But even with the score level, most of the talk was still about Vardy. The record had already happened.

Leicester Were Starting to Look Real

By this stage of the season, plenty of people still thought Leicester's run would eventually end. Surely they would drop off. Surely the bigger clubs would take over.

But they did not look out of place in this game at all, and that was probably more important than the result itself. They were playing Manchester United and competing with them as equals.

They even had a good chance to go back in front through Riyad Mahrez and Leonardo Ulloa, but United survived it. The game finished 1–1.

Normally, a draw like that might have been remembered as just another result. This one was never going to be.

The Run

Vardy's streak had started back in August. At first, it was just a couple of games. Then three. Then five. By the time it got to seven or eight, people started paying attention.

At nine, the record was being talked about before every match. Then came number ten against Newcastle, and finally United.

Eleven consecutive Premier League games. Thirteen goals across the run and fourteen league goals by that stage of the season.

It is a record that still gets mentioned whenever anyone puts together a similar run now.

The Opponent Made It Better

Breaking the record against Manchester United just made the whole thing better. Had Vardy done it against another club, it still would have been a huge moment, but doing it against the same team Van Nistelrooy had played for made it feel right.

There was no rivalry between the two players and no personal connection. Just one record passing from one striker to another, with United there for both.

We Didn't Know What Leicester Were About to Do

At the time, it felt like Vardy breaking the record might be the biggest thing Leicester achieved that season. A brilliant story, a great run of form and something people would still be talking about years later.

Then the season carried on. Vardy kept scoring, Mahrez kept creating, Kanté kept running the midfield and Leicester kept picking up points.

Suddenly the story was no longer about whether Vardy could break a record. It was about whether Leicester could actually win the league.

And they did.

Eleven Games. One Record.

The match itself finished level. Not a majorly entertaining game with red cards and sublime finishes, but it is remembered for one pass and one finish: Vardy scores.

Vardy had gone from non-league football to holding a Premier League record. At the time, it felt like the peak of Jamie Vardy's incredible season.

A few months later, he was a Premier League champion.