December 06, (THEWILL) – On Sunday, Steven Gerrard got the better of his former Liverpool boss Brendan Rodgers, as Aston Villa beat Leicester City 2-1 thanks to an improbable Ezri Konsa brace.
The Foxes’ failure to defend set pieces was exposed once again, as each of their opponents’ goals came from this source. Villa now have a goal difference advantage over Leicester and are in the top half of the Premier League table.
The visitors took the lead almost immediately, with Harvey Barnes scoring after only 14 minutes. Patson Daka fought for the ball just outside the area before slipping the ball to Barnes, who finished with precision.
Villa levelled the game a few minutes later, albeit they were aided greatly by some appalling Leicester set-piece defending.
The ball was kept alive by Villa after Jonny Evans fluffed a header from Douglas Luiz’s free kick, and Emiliano Buendia nodded it back into the danger area, with Konsa getting the tiniest of touches before it crossed the line.
Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, who was making his first Premier League start for the Foxes, let a wonderful chance slip through his fingers by heading Barnes’ crossway wide under no pressure.
After some wonderful link-up play, James Maddison went close with a powerful attempt that was cleared off the line. Before Michael Oliver blew for half-time, Barnes wasted another decent chance and Villa had a goal disallowed as Jacob Ramsey was ruled to have booted the ball out of Kasper Schmeichel’s grasp.
Villa had a good start and took the lead when Konsa scored his second goal of the game at the back post, rising high to head home.
Again, in the second period, the hosts squandered a slew of good chances and were almost punished 20 minutes from time when Emiliano Martinez was pushed into a world-class save to keep Barnes’ looping header from settling in the back of the net.
As Leicester slid to their sixth Premier League defeat of the season, this was the closest they came to tying the game. But, it was not to be and as has become the case recently for managers in the EPL, the seat is beginning to heat up under Rodgers.
He will hope his charges are up for it next Sunday when they welcome relegation side Newcastle to the King Power Stadium to get their contention for places in Europe next season back on track.
About the Author
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
