Leicester hammer Aston Villa 4-0 in Monday Midlands derby
Leicester City cruised to a 4-0 victory against Aston Villa in a Monday night Midlands derby, as Villa failed to climb out of the Premier League’s relegation zone.
Harvey Barnes scored the first goal five minutes before half-time after he rounded Villa goalkeeper Pepe Reina, who came charging outside of his penalty area to give Barnes an easy score.
The video assistant referee (VAR) was called upon on 63 minutes, and awarded a controversial Leicester penalty after the ball appeared to hit Villa defender Tyrone Mings on the shoulder, but it was ruled as a handball offence.
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“The penalty award was a massive moment,” said Villa boss Dean Smith.
“We were still in the game. It went against us – I thought wrongly – that’s my opinion. But then we became architects of our own downfall.”
Jamie Vardy stepped up to convert the penalty on his 300th Leicester appearance before adding a second goal on 79 minutes and Barnes doubled his tally with five minutes to play.
The England striker later revealed that Reina tried to play a goalkeeper’s mind game before the penalty but the Spaniard’s veteran tactics did not work.
“It was a case of calling the keeper’s bluff – he told me not to shoot down the middle, so I shot down the middle,” Vardy explained.
Vardy’s double was the first time he had scored since December because of injury and fitness problems.
But now his two goals against Villa make him the Premier League’s leading scorer with a total tally of 19.
“Obviously you come on and you want to make an impact,” said Vardy. “To score two goals and help see out the game was really enjoyable.”
Leicester sit comfortably in third place on 53 points after their latest win, while Villa are three points back from relegation safety with 25 points in 19th.
“This result is very, very important,” said Leicester manager Brendan Rodgers.
“Both teams needed to win for different reasons but our desire and quality has seen us through.
“A real collective confidence has allowed us to be where we are and our ambition is to stay there.” (dpa)
