Aston Villa 2 Leicester City 1- Report

The winger thumped home substitute Ian Maatsen’s cross with 14 minutes remaining as Unai Emery’s team claimed a win to keep them on pace with the European contenders.

Villa had looked like paying the price when Stephy Mavididi cancelled out Ross Barkley’s opener.

But Maatsen set-up the winner within a minute of coming off the bench to ensure a winning start to 2025 for the hosts.

Analysis

This was a win Villa desperately needed to keep pace with their rivals in the top half of the Premier League and though they laboured for long spells, in the absence of suspended duo Jhon Duran and Morgan Rogers, they did enough.

The introduction of £37.5million summer signing Maatsen off the bench proved an inspired move and he had set up Bailey, Villa should have won by more only for Emi Buendia and Ollie Watkins to both miss golden chances.

In the end it mattered not as Villa condemned their Midlands rivals to a fifth straight Premier League defeat.

Bailey, scorer of 10 Premier League goals last season, had been conspicuous by his absence from the scoring charts this season and him finally getting off the mark was the  among the biggest positives of the afternoon.

Rogers and Duran were not the only men missing from the squad with Emery also without a further three players through injury. Within 20 minutes of the start he lost another, skipper John McGinn forced off with what looked like a hamstring injury.

It added to a frustrating start which had seen Emery’s side struggle to trouble the Premier League’s joint-worst defence, an Watkins shot blocked at close quarters by Conor Coady the only moment of alarm for the visitors.

Villa didn’t manage an attempt on target until the closing seconds of the first half, Jakub Stolarczyk diving low to his left to keep out Matty Cash’s drive after Bailey had just failed to connect with a Watkins cross.

Former Foxes star Youri Tielemans also registered an attempt on goal early in the second period but it was Leicester who then carved out the best chance of the afternoon to that point. 

Mings slipped when attempting to deal with Harry Winks’ cross but though the ball was worked to Stephy Mavididi, his shot was well wide of the target with just Martinez to beat.

It felt a key moment when two minutes before the hour mark, Villa took the lead.

Jannik Vestegaard cleared Tielemans’ cross only far as Barkley, who brought the ball under control before drilling a shot inside the post from just outside the box. 

It was precisely the kind of quality the game had been lacking but within five minutes Villa had tossed the lead away, with Mavididi making up for his earlier miss.

Watkins lost possession and Jordan Ayew raced down the wing. Though Emi Martinez did superbly to deny Jamie Vardy at close range, Mavididi was on hand to slot a finish beneath Cash’s attempted block. 

Villa needed a spark and found it from the bench. 

Maatsen, introduced alongside Buendia with 14 minutes remaining, took less than 60 seconds to make a big impact. The Netherlands international pounced on James Justin’s loose pass, exchanged passes with Jacob Ramsey and crossed for Bailey to thump home at the near post.

Bailey looked alive with confidence after finally getting off the mark for the season and came close to scoring again in a chaotic period when Villa somehow failed to add a third. His shot cracked off the bar before Caleb Okoli blocked Buendia’s follow-up. Even then Watkins looked certain to score but somehow blazed over from inside the six yard box.

Still, Villa could not kill the visitors off. Watkins again broke away and squared for Buendia, who sent his shot over the bar. In the end it mattered little as the hosts saw out the win.

Key Moments

58 GOAL Ross Barkley breaks the deadlock, drilling in from just outside the box.

63 GOAL Leicester pull level. Ollie Watkins loses the ball and Jordan Ayew races down the wing, with Stephy Mavididi slotting home after Emi Martinez denies Jamie Vardy.

76 GOAL Leon Bailey restores Villa’s lead, firing home at the near post from substitute Ian Maatsen’s cross.

Teams

Villa (4-2-3-1): Martinez, Cash, Konsa, Mings, Digne (Maatsen 76), Kamara, Barkley (Buendia 76), Bailey, Tielemans, McGinn (Ramsey 19), Watkins Subs not used: Nedeljkovic, Bogarde, Maatsen, Swinkels, Onana, Buendia, Jimoh-Aloba, Olsen (gk).

Leicester (4-2-3-1): Stolarczyk, Justin, Coady (Okoli 82), Vestergaard (Faes 62), Thomas (Cordova-Reid 90), Winks, Soumare, Ayew (Buonanotte 82), El Khannouss (Daka 82), Mavididi, Vardy Subs not used: Choudhury, Skipp, Alves, Iversen (gk).