Leicester City 1-2 Aston Villa. Aston Villa held firm to secure a narrow 2-1 victory over Leicester City at the King Power Stadium, despite a spirited second-half comeback from the Foxes.
Villa, under the guidance of Unai Emery, dominated the early stages of the match and took a deserved lead just before the half-hour mark. Amadou Onana finished a well-executed free-kick routine, which involved Youri Tielemans and Jacob Ramsey, to give the visitors the advantage.
Leicester improved their performance after the break, but Villa managed to double their lead against the run of play. Jhon Duran, who had just come on to replace Ollie Watkins, scored with a looping header over Leicester’s goalkeeper Mads Hermansen, marking his second goal of the season.
Facundo Buonanotte, a Brighton loanee, gave Leicester hope by scoring his first goal for the Foxes, but they were unable to complete the comeback. Leicester thought they had been awarded a penalty deep into added time when Jamie Vardy went down under a challenge from Ezri Konsa. However, the penalty was ruled out as Vardy was flagged offside from Bilal El Khannouss’s pass.
The victory was a significant boost for Villa, marking their second consecutive away win of the Premier League season. This achievement mirrors their successes in the 2009-10, 2014-15, and 2020-21 seasons. Villa’s triumph also added to their tally of away wins under Emery, who has now overseen 16 Premier League away victories, with only Arsenal and Manchester City surpassing that number since his appointment.
In contrast, Leicester are still searching for their first top-flight win of the new campaign. Villa’s win was a perfect response to their previous weekend’s defeat by Arsenal.
Despite not being at their free-flowing best, Villa could have been further ahead by halftime if not for the efforts of Leicester’s goalkeeper, Hermansen. The Dane made several crucial saves, notably denying Watkins twice in one-on-one situations. Watkins was played through by Tielemans early in the match, but Hermansen managed to keep the ball away from the striker’s reach and made another sprawling save midway through the first half.
Watkins has now gone seven Premier League games without a goal, marking his longest scoreless streak since an eight-game run between August and October 2022, just before Emery’s arrival. In contrast, Duran, who was linked with a move to West Ham during the summer, continued his strong start to the season by scoring Villa’s second goal. His timely strike came just as Leicester began to show more threat.
Leicester’s commitment was evident, but they were punished for their slow start. Hermansen’s heroics prevented Villa from extending their lead, with the goalkeeper making a crucial save from Caleb Okoli’s pass that slipped under his foot before he cleared the danger.
Leicester fans voiced their frustration with referee David Coote, who was booed off the pitch after the match. They felt their team should have been awarded a penalty when Konsa fouled Vardy, though Vardy appeared to be offside when the ball was played. Coote had already upset the home crowd earlier by disallowing a Vardy goal due to a ball that inadvertently touched his heels in the build-up.
source – BBC
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