It was the first game since they shot Bambi. The first game since the sacking of the man who had steered Leicester’s unsung squad to their universally appreciated Premier League title. The first game since, if you believe the more melodramatic coverage of Claudio Ranieri’s dismissal, Cinderella tarnished this century’s favourite football fairy tale by dumping Prince Charming.

The full impact of that decision will be known only in time but the short-term effect was startling as a Leicester team without a goal or victory in the Premier League in 2017 stopped the rot in emphatic fashion with a 3-1 victory over Liverpool. On Saturday they had slipped into the bottom three since the first time since April 2015. Now they climbed out of it after an evening where they looked like champions once more.

Craig Shakespeare’s first game in caretaker charge brought the bounce the club’s owners will have hoped for and boosts his chances of remaining in the post, at least for the short term. Suddenly Saturday’s match against Hull City looks eminently winnable for a side who had previously lost five in a row in the Premier League.

What it does for Liverpool is another story on a dreadful night for the Merseysiders, who were overrun in midfield and horribly uncertain in defence where Leicester preyed on their high line. This had been an opportunity for Jürgen Klopp’s men to climb back into the top four; instead they added Leicester to the list of bottom-half outposts where they have fallen short this season, along with Burnley, Bournemouth and Hull. Liverpool have won only two of their 12 games played in 2017 and at this rate, could even find themselves in a fight with Everton for sixth place.

Leicester 3 Liverpool 1: Player ratings Show all 22 1 /22 Leicester 3 Liverpool 1: Player ratings Leicester 3 Liverpool 1: Player ratings Kasper Schmeichel 7/10 Made a series of good low saves. Could have done little to stop Liverpool's solitary goal. Getty Images Leicester 3 Liverpool 1: Player ratings Danny Simpson 7/10 Was unable to get forward as much as he would have liked but made an excellent first-half interception to prevent Coutinho from scoring. Getty Images Leicester 3 Liverpool 1: Player ratings Wes Morgan 7/10 Put in a performance that harked back to the Morgan of old. Did the simple stuff well and denied Firmino with a fine last-ditch tackle. Getty Images Leicester 3 Liverpool 1: Player ratings Robert Huth 6/10 Looked shaky when Mane isolated him in the penalty area early in the second-half. A threat going forward. Getty Images Leicester 3 Liverpool 1: Player ratings Christian Fuchs 6/10 Assisted Vardy's second goal with a sumptuous in-swinging cross. Had a couple of respectable shots from distance. AFP/Getty Images Leicester 3 Liverpool 1: Player ratings Marc Albrighton 8/10 Very impressive. His pass for the opening goal was a thing of beauty. Impish display out wide. CameraSport via Getty Images Leicester 3 Liverpool 1: Player ratings Danny Drinkwater 7/10 Grabbed his fair share of the headlines with a thunderous right-foot drive past Mignolet. Was occasionally guilty of dawdling on the ball, though. Getty Images Leicester 3 Liverpool 1: Player ratings Wilfred Ndidi 9/10 A contender for man of the match. Made 11 successful tackles: more than even N'Golo Kante ever managed in his time at the club. Liverpool FC via Getty Images Leicester 3 Liverpool 1: Player ratings Riyad Mahrez 7/10 Showed flashes of talent dribbling forward but, running at Milner and Lucas, he should have made more of an impact. Getty Images Leicester 3 Liverpool 1: Player ratings Shinji Okazaki 7/10 Played instead of Ahmed Musa; a tactical decision Craig Shakespeare got spot on. A typically combative performance, constantly freeing up space for Vardy to run into. Getty Images Leicester 3 Liverpool 1: Player ratings Jamie Vardy 9/10 The quintessential Jamie Vardy performance. Showed confidence in front of goal and terrorised Lucas with his direct running. Superb: man of the match. Getty Images Leicester 3 Liverpool 1: Player ratings Simon Mignolet 6/10 Cannot be blamed for any of the goals. Made two good first-half saves. Ran decisively off his line to twice deny Vardy late on. Getty Images Leicester 3 Liverpool 1: Player ratings Nathaniel Clyne 5/10 Should have done better for the third goal, which came down the right-hand side. Inexplicably performed a rabona while Liverpool were 3-1 down, which didn't go down all too well. Getty Images Leicester 3 Liverpool 1: Player ratings Joel Matip 5/10 A poor performance, but had it all to do in a defence lacking confidence and featuring players deployed out of position. Getty Images Leicester 3 Liverpool 1: Player ratings Lucas 3/10 Dreadful. Frequently exposed by Vardy. Struggled for the forward's pace and struggled in the air. Out of position and short of quality. Getty Images Leicester 3 Liverpool 1: Player ratings James Milner 4/10 Frequently caught out of position and struggled against the running of Mahrez and Vardy. Improved when shifted into midfield late on. Getty Images Leicester 3 Liverpool 1: Player ratings Emre Can 5/10 Liverpool badly missed Jordan Henderson. Can tried, but was often overran in midfield. Redeemed himself a little with a fine surge forward for Liverpool's consolation. Getty Images Leicester 3 Liverpool 1: Player ratings Georginio Wijnaldum 5/10 A poor performance from a player who has looked in form in recent weeks. Guilty of giving the ball away for Leicester's first goal. Offered nothing going forward. Getty Images Leicester 3 Liverpool 1: Player ratings Adam Lallana 5/10 Largely anonymous although did attempt to link up with Mane more in the second-half. That ultimately proved too little too late; hauled off by Klopp on the hour. Getty Images Leicester 3 Liverpool 1: Player ratings Philippe Coutinho 6/10 So far from his best. Took his goal very well but failed to capitalise on his half-chances in the first-half. Liverpool FC via Getty Images Leicester 3 Liverpool 1: Player ratings Sadio Mane 5/10 Chopped down by Jamie Vardy just 20 seconds into the match. Restricted to a role on the fringes thereafter and ultimately disappointing. Getty Images Leicester 3 Liverpool 1: Player ratings Roberto Firmino 5/10 Barely involved. The stats tell their own story: 0 shots on goal, 0 through balls played and just three aerials won. Getty Images

This was Shakespeare’s first starting XI since taking temporary charge and it was the essentially the one which delivered the league title last season with the same players – N’Golo Kanté excepted – and same shape. Leicester began the match, moreover, with the same intensity and energy and desire as last season.

Vardy scored twice as Leicester ran Liverpool ragged (Getty)

Admittedly there was too much intensity in Vardy’s poor, unpunished, first-minute challenge on Sadio Mané when he took ball and man and had Jürgen Klopp hopping up and down in anger on the sidelines. But the tone was set and Leicester’s urgency nearly brought an early goal when Shinji Okazaki got his head to a Vardy shot but Simon Mignolet saved well.

The club’s vice-chairman Aiyawatt Srivaddhanaprabha had defended the Leicester players in his match programme notes from the accusation they had conspired in Ranieri’s downfall. “This was our decision, our decision alone and it is unfair that our players, who supported Claudio fiercely, are being accused of disloyalty,” he wrote. Maybe, but the difference in their performance levels told its own story as a revitalised group of players set about harrying Liverpool with an impressive unity of purpose.

Lucas and Milner struggled against the pace of Mahrez and Vardy (Getty)

Vardy should have given them the lead after 20 minutes after he collected a long Schmeichel kick with a terrific touch and turned Joel Matip. He failed to beat Mignolet then but soon had his first league goal.

Again, it was straight out of last season’s playbook. From the centre-circle Marc Albrighton dissected the Liverpool centre-backs with a brilliant first-time ball to send Vardy haring away down the inside-right channel. He had not scored in the Premier League since 10 December but suddenly this was the Vardy of 2015/16 as he flashed the ball past Mignolet at the near post.

Drinkwater scored a sublime goal for the hosts (Getty) (Liverpool FC via Getty)

Leicester’s second was even better as Drinkwater pounced on a headed clearance by James Milner and from the edge of the D directed a wondrous, volleyed shot into the corner of Mignolet’s goal.

The absence of captain Jordan Henderson, sidelined by a foot injury, did not help Liverpool but they were second best from the first whistle. Kasper Schmeichel made decent saves from Philippe Coutinho and Emre Can before the break but this was a shadow of the Liverpool who had blown away Tottenham Hotspur in their last outing 16 days earlier. Whatever the benefits of last week’s break to La Manga, they were not evident here.

Vardy heads home his second of the night (Getty)

Liverpool’s night got worse as the electric Vardy rose above Can to head in from a Christian Fuchs centre. When Liverpool did respond, it was too late. The King Power crowd had just lit up their phones and chorused Ranieri’s name when the visitors pulled a goal back. Schmeichel had done well to deny Adam Lallana but Coutinho’s low 15-yard strike was too precise

By now Klopp had sent on Divock Origi and Alberto Moreno for Lallana and Mané but there was no late cavalry charge. We even saw Riyad Mahrez come to life with a jinking run and lay-off to Drinkwater who nearly added a fourth goal. Penny for the thoughts of Signor Ranieri?

MoM: Jamie Vardy