Leicester City vs Aston Villa. Premier League.
The King Power StadiumAttendance31,725.
Report and free match highlights as Aston Villa earn a 2-1 victory against Leicester at the King Power Stadium; Amadou Onana and Jhon Duran score for visitors, who have six points from three games; Facundo Buonanotte hit back for Foxes but they remain without a Premier League win
Saturday 31 August 2024 23:49, UK
Amadou Onana and Jhon Duran scored their second goals of the season as Aston Villa returned to winning ways with a 2-1 victory at Leicester City.
Facundo Buonanotte came on and scored for Leicester, but the Foxes must wait for their first league victory of the season as Villa made it two wins from three games to recover from the 2-0 loss to Arsenal last time out.
The King Power Stadium is proving to be a happy hunting ground for Villa, who are now unbeaten in their last four visits.
Villa almost got off to the perfect start when Ollie Watkins was played through on goal by Youri Tielemans, but Mads Hermansen charged off his line to divert the ball away and brilliantly deny the England striker.
The Leicester goalkeeper denied Watkins again with an excellent one-handed save down to his right, but could do nothing about a cleverly-worked opener from a set-piece shortly after the midway point of the first half.
Tielemans quickly flicked the ball to substitute Jacob Ramsey, who cut the ball back from the right-hand side of the area for Onana to convert from close range.
Ramsey went close himself moments later, with summer signing Caleb Okoli enjoying Leicester's best chance of the half only to be denied at close range by Emiliano Martinez.
Okoli went close again with a long-range effort in the second half, before Villa doubled their advantage when substitute Duran headed across Hermansen barely two minutes after coming on.
Leicester substitute Buonanotte was also on target with his first goal for the club since joining on loan from Brighton, but Villa held on to take all three points after Vardy was fouled in the box, only for the linesman's offside flag to prevent the award of a penalty.
Aston Villa manager Unai Emery:
"I'm very happy, we competed like we did in the first two matches, (August is) a difficult moment for every team because of playing with the transfer window..
"Those points today and in the first match against West Ham are fantastic to play and win being away. Being competitive and achieving the points, and even playing against Arsenal at home we competed well.
"We are trying to be consistent with the same ideas, style. Today I am very happy.
"We closed August with six points and have to be happy but keep going."
Oliver Skipp fouled Ollie Watkins for the free-kick that led to Villa's opener but Foxes boss Steve Cooper did not think it was a foul.
Leicester City manager Steve Cooper:
"For me, it should have never been a free-kick in the first place and that changed the complexion of the game.
"I think everyone in the stadium would have got booked if the referee could've got round to it.
"I've just accepted the refereeing is where it is.
"You just keep your fingers crossed because of where refereeing is every week that it doesn't go against you on a given game day.
"I realised that more last season, I was away from the game, looking at games more neutrally, you see it clearly, the Premier League is the best in the world without any doubt, but the refereeing for a number of years has been trying to
catch up with that.
"The managers meeting we had in pre-season, the clear message to the players and staff was that the threshold of tackles and duels, of this beautiful English game we love, was going to be raised, then we get that."
