Leicester City 1-2 Aston Villa: Amadou Onana and Jhon Duran secure win for Unai Emery’s side after Jamie Vardy is denied a goal following an accidental assist by the referee
After a Champions League draw to revive memories of an age when Aston Villa ruled in Europe there came a satisfying victory in a local skirmish.
The goals were scored Amadou Onana and Jhon Duran, just as they were in a 2-1 win at West Ham on the opening weekend of the Premier League season.
There was an uncomfortable final few minutes after Leicester pulled one back and belatedly generated some intensity as they chased a second.
But Villa made their superiority count and returned to winning ways after losing at Arsenal.
Ollie Watkins continued to suffer at the hands of inspired goalkeeping. Twice in the first half, Watkins was denied by fine saves by Mads Hermansen just as he was by David Raya on his previous outing, at Arsenal.
Aston Villa won 2-1 away at Leicester City in the Premier League on Saturday afternoon
Amadou Onana (right) gave Villa a 28th-minute lead by scoring his second goal of the season
Jhon Duran doubled Villa’s advantage with a fine headed finish shortly after the hour-mark
Facundo Buonanotte scored his first goal for Leicester but his side were unable to draw level
Leicester’s Danish keeper dashed from his line to smother the danger as Watkins loomed. Then, he produced a splendid reaction save, low to his right but Watkins, played clean through by Morgan Rogers, should have found the net.
Hermansen had earned his luck and got away with a careless touch as Leicester passed it around deep in their own goalmouth.
Watkins was alert and almost pounced, but keeper recovered in time to toe it clear.
Villa found a way past him from an imaginative free-kick routine. Youri Tielemens shaped as if to swing the set-piece into the penalty area before cutting a pass short into the run of Jacob Ramsey, on as a first-half replacement for the injured Leon Bailey.
Ramsey carried the ball into the box and cut a cross square across goal.
Onana came sliding in to score at full stretch. After three goals in two years at Everton he has started with two goals in three games for his new club.
Unai Emery and his free-kick specialist Austin McPhee exchanged congratulations in the technical area but Leicester were furious.
They claimed it should not have been a free-kick – and they had a point. Oliver Skipp was penalised, chasing back to tackle Watkins on the slide.
Skipp seemed to win the ball but referee David Coote blew for a foul and booked him.
Hermansen made a save from Ramsey before Leicester finally stirred as an attacking force with half time approaching.
Emi Martinez saved from Caleb Okoli, who diverted a Harry Winks free-kick towards goal with his midriff, and then from Skipp.
Leicester were frustrated by another intervention by the referee when a forward ball from Winks to Skipp clipped Coote’s heel. The whistle had sounded by the time Jamie Vardy rolled the ball into the net from Skipp’s pass.
Leicester striker Jamie Vardy saw a goal disallowed when the score was still 2-0 to Villa
Vardy’s goal was ruled out because the ball had touched referee David Coote in the build-up
Coote later awarded Leicester a penalty in added time after Vardy was fouled, but the decision was quickly overturned after the referee discovered that the striker had been offside
Aston Villa supporters pictured celebrating during Saturday’s win at the King Power Stadium
Emiliano Martinez and Morgan Rogers celebrate after Villa returned to winning ways
The result comes after Villa discovered their Champions League opponents on Friday
Again, the home side seethed and quickly slipped further behind as Duran came off the bench and scored within 133 seconds, climbing to head a Lucas Digne cross beyond the dive of Hermansen.
Leicester boss Steve Cooper quickly made three changes, with two of those he sent combining to reduce the deficit. One sub Facundo Buonanotte scored on the volley, his first since his loan move from Brighton, after a cross by another sub Stephy Mavididi had been headed down by Wilfried Ndidi.
It made for a frantic ending. The home crowd were enraged again by the officials. This time because no penalty awarded when Tielemans and Vardy collided in pursuit of a free-kick clipped into the box by Winks.
It wasn’t a penalty. Tielemans cleared the ball, but emotions were running high and the visitors were ahead. Then Vardy tumbled again under a challenge by Ezri Konsa. This time, Coote looked as if he had pointed to the spot but Vardy was offside.
