Aston Villa got back to winning ways with a 2-1 win at home to relegation-battling Leicester City on Saturday afternoon.
Unai Emery had a few selection headaches ahead of Leicester's visit. As Morgan Rogers joined John Duran on the wrong foot After collecting five yellow cards this season, Villa were without injured duo Diego Carlos and Pau Torres. Club captain John McGinn joined the centre-backs in the club's treatment room after limping off in the opening 20 minutes.
McGinn didn't miss much during a dismal first half, almost entirely without any scoring chances. The two clubs had a combined four shots between them, none of which strained either goaltender too much.
Leicester can be content with inactivity. The Foxes dispatched a staggering 74 shots in the first three games of Ruud van Nistelrooy's reign. The reigning second-tier champions have gone from strength to strength in recent weeks and were extremely unlucky lost to Manchester City last weekend.
This wet Saturday afternoon slide was late on brought back by Ross Barkley's impressive goal in the 58th minute. The former England international gathered space with a header on the edge of the box and fired a volley into the bottom corner.
Villa's lead lasted barely five minutes before the visitors hit back. Jordan Ayew cut in down the right wing and slipped a low cross into Jamie Vardy's stride. The Leicester captain was stabbed away by Emi Martinez, but Stephy Mavididi was on hand to turn the rebound.
James Justin has endured a devastating run of individual form even against the backdrop of Leicester's collective struggles and the beleaguered full-back was guilty once again on Saturday. Justin's poor pass was scooped up by Ian Maatsen in the 76th minute, who skipped past his opposition defender for good measure before teeing up Leon Bailey for a close-range finish.
|
Player |
ASSESSMENT |
|---|---|
|
GC: Amy Martinez |
6.9/10 |
|
RB: Matty Cash |
8.1/10 |
|
CB: Ezri Konsa |
7.2/10 |
|
CB: Tyrone Mings |
7.3/10 |
|
LB: Lucas Digne |
7.2/10 |
|
CM: Boubacar camera |
7.2/10 |
|
CM: Ross Barkley |
8.5/10 |
|
AM: Youri Tielemans |
7.0/10 |
|
RW: Leon Bailey |
7.8/10 |
|
ST: Ollie Watkins |
5.4/10 |
|
LW: John McGinn |
6.1/10 |
|
UNDER: Jacob Ramsey (19' for McGinn) |
6.5/10 |
|
UNDER: Ian Maatsen (76' for Digne) |
6.9/10 |
|
UNDER: Emiliano Buendia (76' for Barkley) |
6.0/10 |
Subs not used: Robin Olsen (GK), Kosta Nedeljkovic, Lamare Bogarde, Sil Swinkels, Amadou Onana, Jamaldeen Jimoh.
|
Player |
ASSESSMENT |
|---|---|
|
GC: Jakub Stolarczyk |
5.9/10 |
|
RB: James Justin |
5.1/10 |
|
CB: Conor Coady |
5.9/10 |
|
CB: Jannik Vestergaard |
6.7/10 |
|
LB: Luke Thomas |
6.7/10 |
|
CM: Harry Winks |
6.5/10 |
|
CM: Boubakary Soumare |
6.3/10 |
|
AM: Bilal El Khanous |
6.3/10 |
|
RW: Jordan Ayew |
6.2/10 |
|
ST: Jamie Vardy |
6.5/10 |
|
LW: Stephy Mavididi |
6.5/10 |
|
UNDER: Wout Faes (63' for Vestergaard) |
6.4/10 |
|
UNDER: Caleb Okoli (83' for Coady) |
N/A |
|
UNDER: Facundo Buonanotte (83' for El Khannous |
N/A |
|
UNDER: Patson Daka (83' for Ayew) |
N/A |
|
UNDER: Bobby De Cordova-Reid (90' for Thomas) |
N/A |
Subs not used: Daniel Iversen (GK), Hamza Choudhury, Oliver Skipp, Will Alves