Leicester's newcomers gave their fight for survival new life as they took advantage of some terrible Aston Villa defense to win their first league game since November.
Victor Kristiansen, Harry Souttar, and Tete, all three of their January acquisitions, all made their league debuts, and while Tete scored the third goal, Kristiansen earned player of the match honors for his performance at left-back.
Arsenal boss, Mikel Arteta, has explained why his team lost 1-0 against Everton in Saturday’s Premier League tie. Arteta watched as Everton defeated Arsenal at Goodison Park, thanks to James Tarkowski’s only goal of the match. Speaking at his post-match press conference, the Spaniard said that Everton defeated his team because the hosts were good against the Gunners. According to him, the Toffees made things difficult for his players
The Australia center-back Souttar produced three crucial interceptions in the second half when Villa was applying more pressure while playing with a bit less confidence.
Ollie Watkins gave the home team the lead twice; the second was a significant deflection off Souttar. However, the home team's poor defending allowed the visitors to score all four goals, which were scored by James Maddison, Kelechi Iheanacho, Tete, and substitute Dennis Praet. At the end of the game, there were a few isolated boos, and Villa now has games against Manchester City and Arsenal.
Few expected this outcome because Unai Emery's team had 16 points out of a possible 27 whereas Leicester had only one point from their previous five games. The red flags for Leicester also appeared in the second minute as Leon Bailey waltzed past Kristiansen and cut the ball into the danger area, necessitating a crucial interception from Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall.
Kristiansen's squad lost the lead in the ninth minute despite his strong development. Watkins reacted quicker than Timothy Castagne and produced a controlled finish on the volley after Bailey found Emiliano Buendia on the edge of the box. The Argentine's superb curling attempt hit the underside of the bar.
However, the lead for the home team only lasted three minutes. In his own space, Boubacar Kamara was robbed by Dewsbury-Hall as Villa attempted to play out from the back. Iheanacho received the loose ball and found Maddison, who tricked Ezri Konsa before scoring. Unsurprisingly, Maddison capitalized on the occasion by holding his palms to his ears while gazing into the Villa supporters.
Villa appeared more unified, but they had trouble making their superior play matter. Douglas Luiz, Lucas Digne, and Buendia executed a deft move to set up a chance for Watkins at the far post. However, Watkins fluffed his shot from two yards out, and Kristiansen saved Leicester.
Following Danny Ward's deflection of Bailey's low shot, Buendia got space at the near post and was unfortunate to have his header go over the bar.
Unai Emery was swearing, but he didn't need to be concerned. His squad rightfully took back the lead shortly after the half-hour mark. Once more, Buendia and Digne worked together to set up Watkins, whose shot was greatly deflected by Harry Souttar, rendering Ward helpless. Souttar's debut was already degenerating into a nightmare, and his team was losing steam.
But by halftime, they had managed to gain the lead. At the far post, Iheanacho headed them even by converting Harvey Barnes' cross after Tyrone Mings' cross had wonderfully placed for the winger.
At the other end, however, Moreno was causing problems for Leicester, and when he and Buendia teamed up to set up Bailey, the Jamaican delayed his shot, allowing Faes to block and Castagne to clear.
Midway through the second half, Souttar proved his value by making a crucial challenge to deny Watkins, who had been released by Buendia. Souttar had initially appeared shaky. Soon after, Coutinho volleyed over after Luiz's corner was cleared to the outside of the area.
With 20 minutes left, Coutinho believed he had equalized when Ward assisted his near-post shot into the goal, but the offside flag disallowed the Brazilian.
Having lost Iheanacho and Maddison, Leicester was now in serious trouble. Souttar, Faes, and sub Nampalys Mendy had to engage in frantic challenges in order to maintain their advantage as Ward appeared nervous. Therefore, Leicester's fourth goal, which resulted from yet another defensive blunder, was a tremendous shock.
Barnes eluded substitute Matty Cash, and his deflected chip caught Moreno off guard. As a result, Moreno got into an embarrassing mess, which allowed Maddison's replacement Praet to enter and score. Praet went around Martinez.
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