Villa Park was quiet, underwhelmed, frustrations boiling in freezing weather, as Leicester repeatedly broke down the flow of Aston Villa attacks. Ross Barkley’s opener had been cancelled out by a counterattack strike all part of Ruud van Nistelrooy’s plan.
An improved, dogged Leicester, better organised, more disciplined, as they sought to make up for a ruin of a Christmas, ended up rueing two more very preventable goals. Just as Barkley’s strike followed Jannik Vestergaard’s misdirected header, for the winner Jordan Ayew was robbed by Ian Maatsen, and after a quick exchange with fellow sub Emi Buendía, Leon Bailey was supplied a redemptive goal.
In such moments was an effective gameplan squandered. Having been beside Erik ten Hag and then briefly succeeded him at Manchester United, Van Nistelrooy’s Leicester have inherited his former manager’s habit of having shots rain down on his goalkeeper, conceding an average of more than 19 per game. Van Nistelrooy’s inheritance from the deposed Steve Cooper was a team out of the bottom three. There has been little Ruud manager bounce, his opening win over West Ham, a fading memory in the face of four straight defeats over Christmas.
In defeat were signs of a learning experience from someone with still few miles on his managerial clock. At a stadium he once richly enjoyed himself as a striker he had tightened his team’s defending. The plan was to see what might follow from there, Jamie Vardy foraging up front, waiting for his moment to arrive as it duly did.
Van Nistelrooy had at least recognised the downside of facing so many shots. This time, the count was reduced to 13; better but still not enough. It helped to face a blunted Aston Villa. Unai Emery without two of Villa’s stars this season, Morgan Rogers and Jhon Durán on the naughty step through suspension. Villa are bearing the brunt of a fixture-heavy campaign at home and abroad. If Villa Park has now gone ten nine matches without home fans seeing defeat, away form hems them in mid table.
A midlands derby where Leicester fans reminded their rivals from the west of their superior achievements over the last three decades, began with little fire. Leicester would not overcommit while Villa, shorn of Rogers’ energy and movement, were fusty, too many straight lines, too much sterile possession, playing as if weighed down by heavy winter woolies.
Villa’s first chance also betrayed their lack of swing, Bailey slipping before Ollie Watkins’ scuffed shot was saved by Jakub Stolarczyk. The loss of John McGinn after 19 minutes with a hamstring problem was a serious blow, highlighting the tightrope overloaded players walk at this juncture of the season.
Leicester looked likelier amid little entertainment as Bilal El Khannouss broke through to balloon his shot into the Holte End. If Van Nistelrooy might have been happy with Leicester’s improved defensive discipline, the first half closed out with Stolarczyk saving from Matty Cash, a portent of what might follow.
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The type of chance Leicester had waited for came early, El Khannouss’s run beyond Emi Martínez setting up Stephy Mavididi for an open goal, only for the winger to get the angles all wrong. That signalled an opening up, Villa trying to service Watkins though Bailey looked out of touch, way off the form of last season.
Eventually pressure – and the concession of more shots – told and Barkley drilled past a possibly unsighted Stolarczyk, after Vestergaard’s error. It was a lead Villa did not long sustain, as Jordan Ayew, against the club he departed unloved eight years ago, zipped in a cross. Vardy was waiting and when Emi Martínez saved, Mavididi converted a far more difficult chance than his previous miss.
A couple of Austin MacPhee set-piece routines, Villa’s version of Arsenal’s linebacker blitz, looked their most likely route to victory, but the goal came from open play, Maatsen’s perfect execution of pressing a lax opponent. Thereafter, and worryingly for Van Nistelrooy, more Villa shots began to rain down. A refreshed Bailey clattered the crossbar before Buendía and Watkins went close in the same sequence and Watkins later laid Buendía up for a miss that kept Leicester in a contest they will feel might have delivered more.
Source: theguardian.com
