Leicester City’s first game after the sacking of manager Brendan Rodgers saw the Foxes go down 2-1 at the King Power to Unai Emery’s Aston Villa. The result saw the Villans leapfrog Liverpool and move to 7th in the table, and European football next season now appears to be a real possibility for the Midlands outfit.
Ollie Watkins, playing in his 100th Premier League game, put Villa ahead in the 24th minute. Leicester responded through a superb individual finish from Harvey Barnes, with the winger’s pace too much for the ageing Ashley Young to handle after he had received a fine long ball from Wout Faes.
The hosts were reduced to ten men midway through the second half when Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall was sent off for a second bookable offence. A misplaced pass from Wilfred Ndidi compounded their woes, with Bertrand Traore unleashing an unstoppable effort following the midfielder’s error.
There was late drama as Leicester were awarded a penalty in stoppage time, only for VAR to reverse that decision. The Foxes are second from bottom in the Premier League and their next game is against Bournemouth, another team fighting to avoid the drop. Villa will host Nottingham Forest this weekend.
