Aston Villa returned to winning ways by defeating relegation-threatened Leicester City 2-1 on Saturday afternoon.
Unai Emery had several selection problems ahead of the visit of Leicester. While Morgan Rogers joined John Doran on the naughty move After receiving five yellow cards this season, Aston Villa missed the injured duo Diego Carlos and Pau Torres. Club captain John McGinn joined the centre-back in the club's treatment room after limping off for the first 20 minutes.
McGinn did not waste much during a dismal first half that was completely devoid of any scoring opportunities. The two teams made four shots between them, and none of them put pressure on the goalkeepers.
Leicester can be content with inactivity. The Foxes fielded an astonishing 74 shots during the first three games of Ruud van Nistelrooy's reign. The second division champions have tightened up in recent weeks and have been very unfortunate Lost to Manchester City last weekend.
This damp taunt was revived late on Saturday afternoon by Ross Barkley's brilliant opener in the 58th minute. The former England international earned a headed clearance on the edge of the box and curled the ball into the bottom corner.
Villa's lead lasted only five minutes before the visitors responded from a counterattack. Jordan Ayew passed from the right wing and crossed low into Jamie Vardy's net. The Leicester City captain's shot was blocked by Emi Martinez, but Steffi Mavididi was on hand to convert the rebound.
James Justin has endured a devastating run of form individually even on the back of Leicester's collective woes and the beleaguered full-back was at fault once again on Saturday. Ian Maatsen latched on to Justin's weak pass in the 76th minute and raced past his opposing defender before setting up Leon Bailey from close range.
|
player |
classification |
|---|---|
|
Goalkeeper: Amy Martinez |
6.9/10 |
|
lord: Matty Cash |
8.1/10 |
|
Capacity building: Ezri Konsa |
7.2/10 |
|
Capacity building: Tyrone Mings |
7.3/10 |
|
pound: Lucas Denny |
7.2/10 |
|
poison: Boubacar Camara |
7.2/10 |
|
poison: Ross Barclay |
8.5/10 |
|
I be: Youri Tielemans |
7.0/10 |
|
Ru: Leon Bailey |
7.8/10 |
|
street: Ollie Watkins |
5.4/10 |
|
Left wing: John McGinn |
6.1/10 |
|
sub: Jacob Ramsey (19' for McGinn) |
6.5/10 |
|
sub: Ian Maatsen (76' for Digne) |
6.9/10 |
|
sub: Emiliano Buendia (76' for Barkley) |
6.0/10 |
Subs not used: Robin Olsen (goalkeeper), Kosta Nedjeljkovic, Lamarre Boogaard, Seal Swinkels, Amadou Onana, Jamaluddin Jimoh.
|
player |
classification |
|---|---|
|
Goalkeeper: Jakub Stolarczyk |
5.9/10 |
|
lord: James Justin |
5.1/10 |
|
Capacity building: Connor Cody |
5.9/10 |
|
Capacity building: Jannik Vestergaard |
6.7/10 |
|
pound: Luke Thomas |
6.7/10 |
|
poison: Harry Winx |
6.5/10 |
|
poison: Boubakary Soumare |
6.3/10 |
|
I be: Bilal Al-Khanous |
6.3/10 |
|
Ru: Jordan Ayew |
6.2/10 |
|
street: Jamie Vardy |
6.5/10 |
|
Left wing: Stevie Mavididi |
6.5/10 |
|
sub: Woot Weiss (63' for Vestergaard) |
6.4/10 |
|
sub: Caleb Okolie (83' for Cody) |
nothing |
|
sub: Facundo Buonanotti (83' for Al-Khanous). |
nothing |
|
sub: Patson Daka (83' for Ayew) |
nothing |
|
sub: Bobby De Cordova Reed (90' for Thomas) |
nothing |
Subs not used: Daniel Iversen (goalkeeper), Hamza Choudhury, Oliver Skipp, Will Alves.