Villa 2-4 Leicester: 3 important takeaways from derby victory

Brendan Rodgers left no stone unturned when the opportunity finally knocked on his doorstep to use his newly acquired Leicester City assets at his disposal.

The Northern Irishman has participated in playing mind games by acting coy regarding his squad selection. So it was equally surprising and exciting to see him go all out with his choices.

A younger squad, with Kelechi Iheanacho upfront, was everything that the supporters would have fancied. A strong lineup against a resurgent Villans was scheduled for Saturday. James Maddison provided a threat as the attacking midfielder, with support from the wings and the double pivot system of Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall and Youri Tielemans.

There were plenty of positives throughout the full 90 minutes. It shows how well-prepared Leicester City was as a unit. They did not lapse from the fight. It’s never easy to steal points away from Unai Emery. However, Rodgers played his cards right in order not to only hold the home side off for a stalemate, but secure the valuable three points.

3 Important takeaways for Leicester City from away victory

The leaky defense

It’s not a collective reoccurrence but one that crumbled today for the individual errors. Danny Ward really needs to react better when he has the chance to get back on his feet to make an effort.

Ward’s reaction time was off with that Ollie Watkins’ goal. The Wales international was also not helped by Timothy Castagne’s delayed covering run. Both of them could and should have done better.

Towards the last 10 minutes, Aston Villa center-backs made their constant presence felt within the visitor’s box. Switching to a back-five towards the end, with Çağlar Söyüncü as the third man, showed how Rodgers was still not convinced. There were visible doubts in his team’s defense to see it through to the finish line.

New signings impress

Leicester City’s new addition Harry Souttar carries all the markings of a younger Harry Maguire. He has all the potential to improve the Foxes’ backline. Flashes of brilliance got noticed today when he made a challenge, using his unique stature, to block off a swift Villa shot. The Australian would still be frustrated with his debut, having helped Villa to score their second with an unfortunate deflection.

Kristiansen has impressed us more with his wing-back role, often playing a critical part in the final third. It shows that the investments made during the January transfer window were an immediate necessity.

The boss, in particular, would be content with his demands getting delivered with somewhat of a minor mid-season rebuild. The young starlets at his disposal will surely see that season remains interesting.

Not Boring

During recent months, the fans remained frustrated by Leicester City’s monotonous outings. Even in mismatched knockouts of the cup competitions, the King Power club failed to impress.

The pattern was slowly growing on the outfit. It was an identity that the club needed to shed off rather quickly in order to progress.

Today, it was different to a remarkable extent. The visiting fans were taken aback by the new counter-pressing approach that rewarded Rodgers’ men with comebacks. There was no dullness left in this fierce back and forth, with exciting football from both ends.

Hopefully, Leicester City starts in a new direction, keeping this display as their foundation to evolve. If they do that, they could rid themselves early from the perils of a relegation dogfight.