Aston Villa 1-4 Leicester: Jamie Vardy scores two as Foxes win again

Highlights and report as Leicester march on under Brendan Rodgers with a convincing win over Aston Villa

Adam Bate

Comment and Analysis @ghostgoal

Sunday 8 December 2019 19:35, UK

Leicester beat Aston Villa 4-1 at Villa Park, with Jamie Vardy scoring twice to cement their grip on second spot in the Premier League.

Vardy started and finished the scoring, netting for the eighth game in a row, while Kelechi Iheanacho and Jonny Evans were also on target either side of Jack Grealish's strike.

It was enough to move Brendan Rodgers' side six points clear of Manchester City as Liverpool's nearest rivals, while Aston Villa remain outside of the relegation zone only on goal difference.

How Leicester overwhelmed Aston Villa

In an open and entertaining contest on the day that Villa marked the sad passing of former manager Ron Saunders, the greater thrust of the visitors' forward line proved decisive.

Aston Villa actually had the first clear chance of the game but Anwar El Ghazi contrived to fire against the crossbar from close range and it soon proved costly for the home side.

Wesley surrendered possession in his own half and Iheanacho's clever ball found Vardy who rounded Tom Heaton and found the net at the second attempt after scuffing his first effort.

Vardy had the chance to double the lead soon after when he saw his shot blocked and then should have returned the favour to Iheanacho but was unable to pick him out with his pass.

Iheanacho did not have to wait long for his goal though and turned in James Maddison's cross from the left in at the near post after good work by Caglar Soyuncu in the build-up.

That goal left the home crowd stunned and with Tyrone Mings having already succumbed to a muscle injury all hope seemed lost.

But in first-half stoppage time, Grealish, Villa's talismanic captain, struck a deflected shot that beat Kasper Schmeichel at the far post.

That goal meant that the result was in the balance after the break but the feeling didn't last long as Villa's poor marking from a set piece proved their undoing.

Maddison's drilled corner found the head of the unmarked Jonny Evans who expertly forced the ball into the far corner of the net to open up a two-goal lead once more.

Team news

Dean Smith made two changes to the Aston Villa side that had lost 2-1 to Chelsea at Stamford Bridge in midweek. Conor Hourihane and Trezeguet dropped to the bench with Anwar El Ghazi, making a return from a knee injury, and Douglas Luiz, coming back in.

Brendan Rodgers made three changes to the Leicester team, rewarding Kelechi Iheanacho with his first Premier League start of 2019 and also drafting in Dennis Praet. The two men to make way were Harvey Barnes and Ayoze Perez. The only other change was Ben Chilwell returning to the team in place of Christian Fuchs having recovered from a hip injury.

Maddison and Barnes missed good opportunities to extend the lead further before Dennis Praet's lofted pass sent Vardy clear for his second of the afternoon and 16th of the season.

There was still time for Heaton to save brilliantly from Soyuncu but Leicester could settle for an eighth consecutive Premier League victory - their best ever sequence of wins in the top flight. Villa look like a team in need of one.

What the managers said…

Dean Smith: "Goals change games, they always do. Anwar has missed a chance but they had a couple before that. We got in some really good areas. Some of our play was really good.

"I didn't think any of the goals were because of the tactics. I was quite happy when I saw they were playing a diamond in all honesty. We just didn't defend well enough for the goals.

"You can't expect to win games at Villa Park when you concede 23 opportunities. I just feel our defensive structure needs to be better and our individual defending needs to be better.

"It was one of those games where Tom kept the score down at the end. It could have been 8-4 as it went a bit basketball. But we won't be the first or the last to be beaten by Leicester."

Brendan Rodgers: "The quality of our game was at such a high level. We scored four and could have scored more. It was an outstanding performance.

"It was a real historic day for us. To surpass the club record of seven straight wins in the top flight was fantastic for us and it was a performance to match that.

"I think the beauty of today was that we had two counter-attack goals, a long period of possession for the second and a set-piece goal, so we showed different ways to score goals.

"We know we have the mentality and the stamina in the team to keep going."

Graeme Souness' verdict on Leicester...

"They were extremely impressive. If you look through their team, they've got a lovely mix of different types of players, and every one of them have got their own qualities. I'm saying that because there was a 20 or 25 minute period at the start of the game when they had to dig in and go to war. Aston Villa were up for it and there were tackles flying in.

"They weathered that storm and I would suggest that Tielemans, Ndidi and Maddison in midfield are as good as anyone out there. The blend of them, the hard work, the clever passing from Ndidi and Tielemans and in Maddison, I think he's a real craftsman. He should be a regular in the England team. He's got the ability to deliver cute and clever passes and he puts a shift in.

"Vardy up front just wants to run forward all the time and I would suggest that in this team, more than the one who won the league, he knows that when he runs forward, he has a better chance of getting on the end of something because he has better kickers of the ball playing with him now."

Opta stats

Leicester have won their last eight Premier League games in a row - their best-ever winning run in their top-flight history.
Aston Villa suffered their heaviest home league defeat since losing 4-0 to Chelsea in April 2016.
Jamie Vardy became the second player to have scored in eight consecutive Premier League appearances on more than one occasion, along with Ruud van Nistelrooy who did so twice in 2002 and 2003.

What's next?

Aston Villa travel to face Sheffield United away on Saturday before their Carabao Cup quarter-final against whatever Liverpool team Jurgen Klopp puts out at Villa Park.

Leicester host Norwich on Saturday before contesting a Carabao Cup quarter-final of their own against Everton. There's a showdown with Manchester City looming after that.