Leicester City traveled to Villa park and made a real statement to the rest of the league. It was an attacking display as we defeated Aston Villa 4-2.
Leicester had three signings make their Premier League debut against Villa. As like every game this season, Danny Ward was the main man in goal. The defensive line saw the debuts of Victor Kristensen and Harry Souttar. The two new foxes were joined by Wout Faes and Timothy Castagne. James Maddison returned to Premier League action for the first time since November 12th against West Ham. He was joined by Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall and the captain, Youri Tielemans in the midfield. Tete officially become the first-ever Brazilian to play for Leicester City this game as he was alongside Harvey Barnes and Kelechi Iheanacho up top.
World Cup hero and villa captain Emiliano Martinez was the man in between the sticks as his defensive line consisted of Ashley Young, Ezri Konsa, Tyrone Mings, and Lucas Digne. Their midfielders consisted of Jacob Ramsey, Douglas Luiz, and Boubacar Kamara. Ollie Watkins was the sole striker up top as Leon Bailey and Emi Buendia joined him out wide on the wing.
It was without a doubt an eventful first half. Things started off ugly in the ninth minute for LCFC. Buendia went for a long-range strike which bounced off the woodwork. Watkins then caught Castagne slipping and ran past him for the easy tap-in to make it 1-0 for Villa. However, just three minutes later, Martinez would pass a poor ball to Kamara inside the box. KDH would steal it and dump it off to Iheanacho. Iheanacho then passed it to Maddison who tied the game at one apiece.
Buendia created two beautiful chances in the 27’ and 30’ but thankfully none of them came to fruition. He slid a beautiful ball across our defense yet Watkins couldn’t get the finish. A corner then came to Buendia in the 30’ yet his header bounced off the crossbar, meaning he hit the crossbar for the second time today.
The foxes would coincide an unfortunate goal in the 31’ when Watkins sent a shot straight at Souttar’s right boot. The ball would then deflect over Ward giving Villa a 2-1 lead. Leicester would start to cook right after that. A beautiful pass from Barnes; his best of the season, lead to an Iheanacho-headed goal in the 40’. Then in the final seconds of the half, Iheanacho would find Tete who would fake out Martinez and would score on his debut. Leicester lead 3-2 heading into the break.
The second half was strong from Villa. They carried more possession and were getting shot attempts. However, the sole goal of the second half came from Dennis Praet. Barnes would get his second assist of the game in the 78’ when he sent a through ball to Praet. Like Tete, Praet would dribble past Martinez and would get the ball in the back of the net. The game would end with a score of 4-2.
Leicester City player ratings
Ward 6: It was an unlucky game for Ward as Villa scored two lucky goals. The first one was from an easy tap in and the other took an unfortunate bounce off of Souttar’s boot. Besides the misfortune, Ward made a couple of saves and had great defending during corners.
Castagne 5: Our worst player on the pitch today. The first goal was 100% his fault for letting Watkins dust past him. Villa’s best-attacking chances came by attacking Castagne. The only negative today. We need Pereira back on the pitch.
Souttar 6: I thought he played well. Not great, but good. His own goal was very unfortunate but he showed signs of promise today. He is a monster when it comes to clearing corners and he made some crucial tackles today. The performance will be overshadowed by the own goal.
Faes 7: Faes is so fun to watch play the game of football. He slides for every tackle and made great clearances today. I will always show love to a player who gives 100% and that is what Faes did today.
Kristensen 8: What a player and what a Premier League debut for the lad. He had Bailey in his pocket the entire game. He marked his man, made tackles, and was putting in runs on the offensive end. For a smaller guy, he has INSANE physicality. He always was so excited when he or his teammates made a big play. This guy is exciting. He is a pitbull!
KDH 7: The midfield wasn’t at its best today. They left too many openings for Villa to attack. However, we don’t get our first goal today without the effort of KDH. Along with that, he was making beautiful passes throughout the game. We just need to have a defensive midfielder throughout the game.
Tielemans 6: We didn’t hear much from Tielemans today. No negatives but no real positives either.
Maddison 7: Life is better when Maddison is on the pitch. We score goals when he is playing. He netted our first one to cement his comeback into the team. Simply such a creative player. He performed well throughout his time on the pitch.
Barnes 9: Maybe Barnes’s best game of the season? He provided two assists today and his first one to Iheanacho was sensational. I give him a lot of garbage but, he showed up today. Would love to see him score more. But, you can’t complain about that after his performance today.
Tete 8: His goal was beautiful today. He made Martinez look like a fool. We’ve desperately needed some Brazilian flare in this squad and boy did it show up today. He dribbles past players like it is nothing and he is always willing to send the ball into the box for a pass. Tete is also not afraid to put a shot on target. Fantastic debut today.
Iheanacho 10: You absolute beauty of a player! Two assists and a goal for what should be our starting striker for the rest of the season. Besides his finishing ability, he provides us with playmaking as well. The squad is much more versatile when he is in the game. I was mesmerized watching him play today. Hopefully, it was enough to impress Rodgers from here on out.
Substitutes
Praet 7: Fantastic goal for Praet. His first since early 2020. It was quite similar to the goal of Tete where he dribbled around the keeper and slotted the ball into the back of the net. Hopefully, he can continue this great form and be a key substitute for us the reason of the season.
Vardy, Mendy, Thomas, Soyuncu: N/A