Aston Villa 2-4 Leicester: Brendan Rodgers’ Foxes secure first Premier League win since November

Leicester’s new boys brought their battle for survival to life as the Foxes exploited a terrible Aston Villa defense to record their first league win since November.

The three January signings – Victor Kristiansen, Harry Souttar and Tete – made their league debuts and while Tete scored the third goal, it was Kristiansen who produced a man-of-the-match display at left-back.

Souttar was slightly less sure, but the Australia centre-back still made some crucial interceptions in the second half as Villa were turning up the pressure.

Leicester secured their first Premier League win since November at Villa Park on Saturday

The home team took the lead twice through Ollie Watkins, the second a great deflection from Souttar, but they were undone by poor defending on all four goals, with James Maddison, Kelechi Iheanacho, Tete and substitute Dennis Praet in goal. of the visitors. There were isolated boos in regulation time and Villa now faces games against Manchester City and Arsenal.

This was a result few expected, as Unai Emery’s man had taken 16 points from a possible 21, while Leicester had only one point from their previous five matches. And the warning signs were there for Leicester in the second minute when Leon Bailey passed Kristiansen and sliced ​​the ball into the danger zone, forcing Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall to make a vital interception.

And despite Kristiansen’s rapid improvement, his team fell behind on the ninth minute. Bailey found Emiliano Buendía on the edge of the box and when the Argentinian’s magnificent curling effort hit the underside of the bar, Watkins reacted faster than Timothy Castagne and produced a controlled finish on the volley.

Ollie Watkins was on hand to put Villa ahead early after Emi Buendía hit the crossbar

But James Maddison leveled the game for Brendan Rodgers’ team minutes later.

£15m signing Harry Souttar slotted the ball into his own net from a Watkins cross

However, the home side’s lead lasted only three minutes. As Villa tried to play from behind, Boubacar Kamara was mugged inside his own box by Dewsbury-Hall. The ball broke from Iheanacho and when he found Maddison, the midfielder tricked Ezri Konsa before shooting on goal. Unsurprisingly, Maddison seized the moment, looking at the Villa fans with his hands over his ears.

Villa looked more cohesive but struggled to make his superior game count. A smart move involving Douglas Luiz, Lucas Digne and Buendía produced a chance at the far post for Watkins, who missed his shot from two yards and Kristiansen rescued Leicester.

Kelechi Iheanacho continued his scoring form to level the game before half time

Then, after Danny Ward deflected Bailey’s low shot from behind and from Luiz’s corner, Buendía found space at the near post and was unlucky enough to see his header hit the bar.

Unai Emery cursed, but he needn’t have worried. Just after half an hour, his team deservedly regained the lead. Again Buendía and Digne combined to help Watkins, whose shot deflected off Harry Souttar and left Ward defenseless. At that time, Souttar’s debut was turning into a nightmare and his team was in decline.

Yet somehow, they were ahead at half time. First Iheanacho headed in at the far post, converting a Harvey Barnes cross after a Tyrone Mings cross had landed perfectly on the winger.

Brazil youth international Tete enjoyed a better afternoon than his fellow debutant, putting Leicester ahead before half-time.

Then, after Kamara fumbled again in midfield, Tete burst down the right flank. Iheanacho’s pass was a delight and with Villa appealing for offside, the Brazilian got past Emiliano Martinez and fired straight in.

Only Iheanacho will know how he failed to score Leicester’s fourth in the opening seconds of the half. Played by Youri Tielemans, the Nigerian went one on one with Martinez but shot wide. Emery had hooked Digne and Jacob Ramsey at half time and Buendía tried to respond, forcing Ward to spin behind his line.

Then one of the substitutes, Philippe Coutinho, sent in a dangerous cross that Wout Faes cleared for a corner under pressure. But Leicester remained a threat and Tete led a barely wide effort after getting the best of Digne’s replacement, Alex Moreno.

The frantic pace between the two sides showed no signs of slowing down after the break.

Philippe Coutinho appeared to have equalized, but his effort was eventually disallowed for offside.

Substitute Dennis Praet capitalized on an Alex Moreno mistake to give Leicester a two-goal lead

However, Moreno was giving Leicester trouble at the other end, and as he and Buendía worked together to set up Bailey, the Jamaican delayed his shot, allowing Faes to block and Castagne to clear.

Souttar looked shaky but showed his mettle midway through the second half with a vital challenge to deny Watkins, who had been released by Buendía. Moments later, a Luiz corner kick was cleared on the edge of the box, where Coutinho volleyed home.

Coutinho thought he had leveled with 20 minutes remaining when his near-post effort was helped into the net by Ward, only for the Brazilian to be denied the offside flag.

Leicester had taken off Iheanacho and Maddison and were just under the punch at this stage. Ward looked nervous and Souttar, Faes and sub Nampalys Mendy were forced to face desperate challenges to stay ahead. So it came as quite a surprise when Leicester scored their fourth, through another defensive error.

Barnes escaped from Matty Cash and his deflected chip deflected to Moreno, who found himself in an embarrassing tangle and let in Praet, Maddison’s replacement, who circled Martinez and scored.