Leicester City entertained Aston Villa at the King Power Stadium earlier tonight in the first leg of the EFL Cup semifinals. The Villans made a terrific start to the match as Frederic Guilbert opened the goal-scoring in the 28th minute. Dean Smith’s men defended resolutely to go into the half-time break with their narrow one-goal lead intact.
The Foxes came back with a point to prove in the second 45 minutes and managed to get the equaliser when Kelechi Iheanacho came on as a substitute and scored in the 74th minute. Both sides fought hard but couldn’t manage to net the winner in the final few moments of the match. The contest ended 1-1 with everything to play for in the second leg at Villa Park.
Let’s take a look at how each Aston Villa player fared during the match against the Foxes.
GK: Ørjan Nyland – 8.5/10
The Villa keeper made some crucial stops and managed to restrict the Leicester attackers to just one goal. His man of the match-winning performance tonight will undeniably please the manager.
CB: Ezri Konsa – 6/10
Konsa was unfortunate to hit the crossbar with his header but was a constant aerial threat from set-pieces. He got cautioned in the second half, which summed up his night.
CB: Tyrone Mings – 8/10
The English centre-back made some important interceptions and vital blocks for his team. He was a rock at the back and was really impressive during the 90 minutes.
CB: Kortney Hause – 7/10
He kept things tight at the back and looked solid defensively throughout the contest. Hause did enough to help his side come away with a result in the end.
RWB: Frederic Guilbert – 7/10
The wing-back took his goal well from close range which gave Villa the all-important lead in the tie. Guilbert put in a tireless shift down the right flank.
CM: Douglas Luiz – 5/10
The talented midfielder could have done better to prevent the Leicester goal and looked like a fragile figure in midfield.
CM: Marvelous Nakamba – 7/10
He worked his socks off at the centre of the park, but his ball-distribution left a lot to be desired.
LWB: Neil Taylor – 7/10
The English left-back looked solid out on the wide areas and did well to cope with the threat of Ricardo Pereira.
RW: Trezeguet – 6/10
The Egypt international had a lot of defending to do, which hampered his chances of influencing the game at the other end of the pitch.
ST: Anwar El Ghazi – 8/10
He linked up play well with others around him and supplied a brilliant cross to set-up Guilbert’s goal in the first half. Overall, it was a terrific display from him tonight.
LW: Jack Grealish – 8/10
The Villa skipper led his team from the front and played his part in setting up Guilbert’s goal in the 28th minute. He was a constant menace for the Foxes defenders and put in another impressive performance in the opposition half.
Substitutes:
CM: Conor Hourihane – 6/10
He added some energy to the Villa midfield.
LW: Indiana Vassilev – 6/10
The youngster came off the bench and worked hard for his side.
CM: Henri Lansbury – N/A
He did not have enough time to make an impact.
