- Stephy Mavididi volleyed home to counter Ross Barkley’s fine opener
- Bailey then produced a winner to give Villa a ninth league win of the season
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Next time top-flight managers wish to campaign for a regular winter break, they should send the film of this match to Premier League chief executive Richard Masters.
We all love our Christmas football but the hangover often arrives with the fixtures in early January. Two sets of tired bodies and minds struggled to produce the quality or entertainment that make this the world’s most marketable league.
To prove the point, each side lost a key man to injury, with Aston Villa skipper John McGinn departing in the first half and Leicester defender Jannik Vestergaard in the second. McGinn has a suspected hamstring injury that could rule him out for more than a month.
All three goals resulted from errors and Villa won because they made one fewer. Ross Barkley opened the scoring for the home side and after Stephy Mavididi had equalised, Leon Bailey hit the winner – his first of the season – when Ruud van Nistelrooy’s men fell asleep at the back.
‘Leicester competed very well so to get three points is fantastic for us, especially as the league is very tight,’ said Villa boss Unai Emery. ‘It was a difficult match – hard to create clear chances.’
Though Villa lacked inspiration without suspended pair Morgan Rogers and Jhon Duran, this win keeps them in touch with the race for Europe.
Leon Bailey struck for the first time this season to give Aston Villa the lead for a second time
Ross Barkley had given Unai Emery’s strike the lead just before the hour after a turgid first half
The Foxes came roaring back into it thanks to a fine Stephy Mavididi volley minutes later
Things are starting to look bleak for Leicester, however, who suffered their fifth straight defeat. It is difficult to see how the visitors escape the bottom three, especially with limited funds available in January.
Van Nistelrooy said: ‘It was a decent performance but the two goals came from our mistakes. Those situations will be punished in the Premier League in the blink of an eye.’
Leicester created their first quality chance at the start of the second half and it owed more to Villa’s sloppiness than their own creativity.
Tyrone Mings and Matty Cash failed to deal with Harry Winks’ ball into the box, allowing Bilal El Khannouss to retrieve and feed Mavididi. In an excellent spot on the angle, the winger produced a dire effort that did not trouble Emi Martinez.
The action had been no better in the first half, which was played at a desperately slow tempo. McGinn was forced off injured early on and neither goalkeeper had a save to make until Jakub Stolarcyzk parried Cash’s drive from 20 yards.
Just when Leicester were starting to look confident, Villa scored. Vestergaard’s header to clear Youri Tielemans cross lacked power, allowing Barkley to collect it and hammer beyond Stolarczyk from 20 yards.
The lead lasted just five minutes. As Mings misjudged the bounce of the ball, Jordan Ayew flew past him and though Martinez saved Jamie Vardy’s first-time finish, Mavididi reacted fastest to ram home the loose ball.
Given the quality of the match, it was apt that the third should come from another blunder as a mix-up between Ayew and James Justin let in Ian Maatsen. After a one-two with fellow substitute Jacob Ramsey, Maatsen squared for Bailey to sweep beyond Stolarczyk.
Villa should have sealed it when Bailey hammered an angled drive against the bar but neither Emi Buendia nor Ollie Watkins could finish, as Watkins hooked over an open goal from six yards.
