Leicester (United Kingdom) (AFP) – Jamie Vardy rescued Leicester City as the deposed Premier League champions ended their rollercoaster season with a 1-1 draw against Bournemouth on Sunday.

Twelve months after being crowned kings of English football at the climax of an incredible title-winning campaign, Leicester brought down the curtain in far more sedate fashion at the King Power Stadium.

The England striker netted his 16th goal of the season as Leicester finished 12th after a turbulent year that saw boss Claudio Ranieri replaced by his assistant Craig Shakespeare, who led the team away from the relegation zone and into the Champions League quarter-finals.

Junior Stanislas opened the scoring for Bournemouth after just 57 seconds as the Cherries sealed ninth place — the highest league position in their 118-year history.

Leicester’s attention now turns to resolving the future of Shakespeare, with talks expected this week over whether he will stay as boss beyond June.

Shakespeare signed a deal until the end of the season when he took over from Ranieri in February.

After demanding a response following Thursday’s 6-1 thumping by Tottenham Hotspur, Shakespeare must have been stunned when Bournemouth took the lead in the first minute.

Lys Mousset turned Christian Fuchs inside out to burst into the area and continued his run after Ryan Fraser was taken out by Danny Simpson.

The 21-year-old’s shot deflected into the path of Stanislas to tap in from 10 yards for his third goal in three games.

Leicester almost grabbed a leveller five minutes before the break when Yohan Benalouane’s shot deflected just wide and Islam Slimani nodded the resulting corner across goal.

The Foxes made their growing momentum count six minutes after the break.

Vardy won the ball in midfield and laid it to Ben Chilwell, who crossed for Slimani to nod back for Vardy and he bundled in at the far post.

Vardy was denied a second on the hour by the offside flag after stabbing in from close range as Leicester had to settle for a point.