Leicester City manager Brendan Rodgers thought his side looked back to their best as Jamie Vardy ended his goal drought in their convincing win over Aston Villa.

The Foxes had only picked up two wins in their past eight Premier League games - and two points in their past four matches.

They led through Harvey Barnes’ goal after the winger took advantage of visiting keeper Pepe Reina’s baffling decision to run out of his box.

Vardy’s first touch after coming on was to score a penalty after Tyrone Mings’ handball, before he smashed in at the near post - his first goal in 10 games.

Barnes scored his second from a Marc Albrighton cross.

“It was a very, very good win. An important win,” said Rodgers. “The past few games we haven’t been at our level. In terms of attacking, we were much better this evening. After the first goal we went on and played very well.

“We want to win and early on you could see our confidence wasn’t where it has been. The only way you regain that confidence is hard work and these players have been brilliant. Tonight the intensity was there and we didn’t give away too much.”

Dean Smith’s Villa remain in the relegation zone after a fourth consecutive league defeat, and a fifth in all competitions.

“Individual mistakes are costing us. We need to get better at it. Teams capitalise on our errors,” said Smith.

Leicester had missed Vardy for a couple of weeks with a calf injury, but really they had been missing his goals since 21 December when he last scored against Manchester City.

Since then he had gone nine games in league and cup without scoring - although he remains the top scorer in the Premier League, now with 19 goals.

Foxes manager Brendan Rodgers said it was no coincidence their recent blip - two points from four games - came during midfielder Wilfried Ndidi’s absence. Ndidi was back, and so too is Vardy.

Leicester were already ahead when the 33-year-old Englishman replaced Kelechi Iheanacho after 59 minutes. The first thing he did was slot a spot-kick down the centre after Mings had been penalised for handball.

The ball appeared to hit centre-back Mings’ shoulder - but the decision stood after a check by the video assistant referee. Smith fumed afterwards at a “very, very harsh” decision that killed the game.

Vardy only had seven touches of the ball - but two of them were goals. His second arrived after his attempted cross had come back to him, allowing him to rifle past Reina at his near post.

That was a particularly impressive goal, starting with defender Jonny Evans winning the ball outside his own box before he played it forward to Barnes, who found Vardy.

“Vardy looked bright in his running and his movement was very good,” said Rodgers. “He’s struggled since December with injuries, but he looked all over it.”

Leicester’s fourth gave them a scoreline their performance deserved - Barnes, who merited his second goal for an industrious performance, blasting home from Albrighton’s cross.

Rodgers said: “Harvey has got a very bright future. He’s been getting better, his intensity and hunger to get in and score is what we’ve spoken about, and now he gets in there regularly and he’s getting goals. I’m delighted for him.”

The result boosts Leicester’s Champions League chances, with the 2016 title-winners sitting eight points above fifth-placed Manchester United with nine matches remaining.

**Reina error increases Villa’s problems

Villa’s cup keeper Orjan Nyland played well in their Carabao Cup final defeat by Manchester City last Sunday and there was some talk that he could keep his place instead of Reina being recalled. Manager Smith may wish he had done just that.

Leicester were already on top without finding the breakthrough when Reina decided to run about 20 yards outside his penalty area in an attempt to cut out Albrighton’s long ball to Barnes. Why he did so was a mystery, with several defenders running back into position.

Barnes took advantage by nipping the ball past the Spaniard - the oldest player to make an error leading to a goal in the Premier League this season - before scoring past two defenders on the line from 20 yards.

“Pepe came out for a ball he wasn’t going to get and made Barnes’ goal easy,” said Smith. “One of my biggest regrets was how we gave the ball away so cheaply against a team who want the football.

“We’ve probably made more individual errors than anyone his season.”

Villa had a glorious chance to move out of the relegation zone with none of the five teams above them winning this weekend. They had a bright start at the King Power Stadium with Conor Hourihane and Mbwana Samatta going close to getting on the end of set-pieces.

But that was their best spell of the game and Frederic Guilbert’s 78th-minute effort, which was easily held by Kasper Schmeichel, was their only shot on target.

Villa have lost all five games since beating Leicester in the EFL Cup semi-finals. They will need to improve drastically if they are to stay in the Premier League, especially as their next four games are against sides currently in the top six - Chelsea, Wolves, Liverpool and Manchester City.
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*The Guardian*
*Monday, 9 March 2020*

If Leicester end up qualifying for the Champions League next season then Brendan Rodgers may be tempted to send his regards to Pepe Reina. The Aston Villa goalkeeper fell out spectacularly with Rodgers when he took over at Liverpool before being shown the door, but on Monday night it was the veteran’s rush of blood to the head at the end of the first half that gifted his former manager a priceless first league victory since the end of January.

A second-half double from Jamie Vardy – his first goals since December – after he came off the bench and a second for the superb Harvey Barnes wrapped up the points to leave Villa’s Dean Smith cutting a disconsolate figure at full-time. “Disappointed is an understatement,” he said. “We’ve made a big mistake for their first goal and we are getting punished massively for that at the moment. It was a tough last 15 minutes.”

The defeat leaves Villa mired in the bottom three and facing the daunting prospect of forthcoming fixtures against Chelsea, Wolves, Liverpool and Manchester United. Smith will know they need to reproduce the form that kick-started an unlikely promotion last season if they are to stand a chance of avoiding an immediate return.

Those kind of concerns used to be a staple among Leicester supporters but the yo-yo years are long gone in the east Midlands. There had been a sense of urgency among them before kick-off having seen their team’s lead over the chasing pack whittled down to five points following Manchester United’s victory on Sunday.

“You want to hear that special music next season, don’t you,” asked the stadium announcer in reference to the competition they contested in 2016-17, reaching the quarter-finals. Yet they could have been forgiven for fearing the worst against opponents who had already denied them a place in the Carabao Cup final.

Villa’s last-gasp home victory in the second leg of the semi-final at the end of January preceded a run of four successive defeats which culminated in their valiant loss to Manchester City at Wembley, during which time their relegation rivals have stolen a march on them. Smith restored Reina in goal despite Ørjan Nyland’s performance against City and it was a decision he would come to regret.

The visitors should really taken the lead inside the first 10 minutes but neither Conor Hourihane nor Mbwana Samatta could take chances provided by the dazzling feet of Jack Grealish. James Maddison – a potential rival for a place in England’s Euro 2020 squad – responded to the cat-calls from the visiting fans as he prepared to take Leicester’s first corner by delivering a perfect cross that was met by the head of Jonny Evans.

This time, Reina came to Villa’s rescue with an instinctive save. Caglar Soyuncu then wasted another brilliant corner from Maddison before the referee waved away appeals for a penalty after Frédéric Guilbert challenged Ricardo Pereira. But the miss of the half was reserved for Kelechi Iheanacho, who headed wide from Pereira’s glorious deep cross after a short corner when it seemed easier to score.

Down on the touchline, Rodgers was not amused. But it was soon Smith’s turn to kick the ground in frustration as Reina charged out of his goal in an attempt to intercept Marc Albrighton’s speculative long ball ahead of Barnes only to see the Leicester winger easily win the race before taking his chance with aplomb. “After the first goal we got our intensity back,” said a delighted Rodgers, who also singled out the returning Wilfred Ndidi’s influence on his side’s performance.

The former Spain goalkeeper’s heart must have been in his mouth again two minutes after the restart when his clearance was headed into the onrushing Iheanacho’s path by the impressive James Justin, although this time the 37-year-old stayed on his line and made a comfortable save.

Villa mustered no shots on target in the first half and appeared no closer to threatening Kasper Schmeichel’s goal after the interval, as Grealish’s influence waned. Vardy’s introduction to replace Iheanacho was greeted with a roar almost as loud as that for the opening goal and it did not take long for him to make his presence felt.

Lurking at the back post to convert a cross from Barnes, the ball was diverted out of his path by the shoulder of Tyrone Mings and the referee pointed immediately to the penalty spot. “It was a big gamble to give a penalty,” said Smith. Vardy did not make the cleanest connection but it was enough to extend Leicester’s lead. His second was another moment Reina will not want to see again as Vardy lashed the ball home at the near post after Villa had once again failed to clear from a Barnes through-ball. The 22-year-old youth team product – himself surely a candidate for an England call-up next week – rounded things off with a sharp finish from Albrighton’s cross five minutes from time to complete a miserable night for Smith’s side.

“Going down, going down, going down,” sang the Leicester fans. On this evidence, it is hard to disagree.