Leicester City held Aston Villa to a goalless draw at the King Power Stadium as both teams struggled to find a way through.
Leon Bailey’s blazed shot was the best chance of the game, which shows the overall quality of the game at the King Power Stadium. Leicester City and Aston Villa battled to a scrappy draw, with no team able to create any chance of note.
Incidentally, these were the teams yet to experience a goalless draw during the season and ended up securing such a result against each other. In this match, the two goalkeepers were barely tested as it was mostly about attackers getting into good positions to squander their chances.
Both teams cannot be questioned for the energy on display as they were charged up to get an untimely winner in the second half. It was Leicester City, after a slow start, who grew steadily in the contest while maintaining the overall theme of lacking the final ball. Aston Villa and Leicester lacked quality in the final third, and this result is more damaging to the visitors, given their recent slump and positioning on the table.
They are closer to the relegation zone than the top half they aspired to be in this season, and Steven Gerrard will have to conjure up results from the remaining games. Here’s how the players fared as Leicester City and Aston Villa played out an entertaining goalless draw.
Leicester City
Kasper Schmeichel: 6/10
There were no dangerous moments for Schmeichel to deal with, although made some regulation saves in the second half. In the first period, he did not have anything to do, but he remained alert to everything that happened inside the box.
James Justin: 6.5/10
Justin had the opportunity to score, but like the others, he could not find the right quality to take his chance. Defensively, he was sound, although the full-back was more intent on attacking the ball.
Caglar Soyuncu: 6/10
Soyuncu suffered through the game, and he had to be alert to Aston Villa’s attacking threat. Fortunately for him, nothing went the visitors’ way, and then he took a nasty fall while escaping any injury.
Wesley Fofana: 6/10
?? Wesley Fofana completed more passes (86/92), made more ball recoveries (8) and made more blocks (2) than any other Leicester player against Aston Villa.
Baller. #LEIAVL #LCFC pic.twitter.com/6k94CZ6rha
— Mozo Football (@MozoFootball) April 23, 2022
A surprise starter considering Brendan Rodgers may have wanted to keep him fresh for their UEFA Europa Conference League clash. Fofana looked a bit shaky against the threat of Ollie Watkins and Leon Bailey, but he stood his ground pretty well in the second half of the game.
Timothy Castagne: 5.5/10
Castagne produced an energetic display without offering anything of real credibility. He produced some runs down his flank and looked defensively sound throughout the encounter.
Nampalys Mendy: 7.5/10
Mendy had a tremendous game in midfield, as he thwarted the threat posed by Coutinho in the attack. He did his job of breaking up the play quite well and proved one of the best Leicester players on the pitch.
James Maddison: 6/10
There were two aspects to his game, as Maddison looked wasted on the right-wing, although he played beautifully when deployed in a familiar attacking midfield role. He mustered some nice free-kicks, but he lacked the killer instinct to get something out of the game.
Youri Tielemans: 4/10
The trend of poor performances continued with Tielemans, as the midfielder lacked again with his display. There was a sense of laziness in his approach, which got the better of him, as the Belgian could barely affect the game.
Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall: 7.5/10
??????? Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall against Aston Villa:
? 63 Touches
? 37 Passes
? 81% Pass Accuracy
? 1/1 Long Balls
? 3 Crosses
? 2/2 Dribbles
? 6/10 Duels Won
? 3 Fouls Suffered
? 3 Ball Recoveries?. #LEIAVL #LCFC pic.twitter.com/DuR5DRpXdy
— Mozo Football (@MozoFootball) April 23, 2022
Dewsbury-Hall continues his hardworking displays and yet again was one of the more energetic players for Leicester. He managed to inject some intent into the game and tried creating chances for his teammates, with the midfielder coming close to turning it around for the Foxes.
Ademola Lookman: 4.5/10
Lookman seemed dangerous in some moments, although that could be dismissed with a false dawn narrative, as the Aston Villa defenders looked relaxed with his approach and read his game well.
Patson Daka: 4/10
An anonymous display from the highly-rated forward, as he continues to deliver more dismal outings.
SUBSTITUTES
Jamie Vardy: 5/10
There was renewed energy on the field as Vardy marked his much-awaited return, replacing the anonymous Daka on the pitch.
??'? ???? ?
There are just under 1️⃣0️⃣ minutes left to find a winner!#LeiAvl pic.twitter.com/YVmHNbk2jj
— Leicester City (@LCFC) April 23, 2022
Harvey Barnes: 5/10
Rodgers saved Barnes for the cause of the UEFA Europa Conference League semi-final, and as the attacker came on as a substitute, he did not influence the match positively.
Ayoze Perez: N/A
By the time Perez arrived on the pitch, there seemed no energy left in the game, and he could not change that in his short cameo.
Aston Villa
Emiliano Martinez: 6/10
Like Schmeichel, Martinez barely had anything to do other than collecting the ball from behind for numerous goal-kicks. He was alert to any potentially dangerous moments and ended the day making a few decent saves.
Matty Cash: 5/10
It was quite puzzling as to why Cash did not contribute much in the final third, considering he had limited defensive duty on the day. There were a few moments at the back when he was needed, but his day was generally quiet.
Ezri Konsa: 4.5/10
Konsa could count himself fortunate that the Leicester attack was toothless all day long, especially Daka. The defender had a nervy evening as he was error-prone throughout the game.
"It's vitally important that if you can't win, you take a clean sheet away and you take the positive point." ?
Steven Gerrard's reaction to #LEIAVL. ?️ pic.twitter.com/LrFNP2ZNDr
— Aston Villa (@AVFCOfficial) April 23, 2022
Tyrone Mings: 5/10
Mings was not even at his average best on the day, as he, like Konsa, struggled to get his bearings right. The Aston Villa captain had a knack of getting into arguments and fights more than reading the game and affecting it positively. Mings also missed a great chance to score.
Ashley Young: 6/10
Cash barely put a foot in the attacking activities, which left Young to conjure up something from the left flank. The veteran put in a good shift and put his body on the line a few times. There were fears of a late injury, but he carried on and finished the game.
John McGinn: 3/10
McGinn had a terrible game, and his passing was out of sorts all day long. Many of his passes found an opposition player rather than a teammate, which sums up his day on the pitch.
Douglas Luiz: 4.5/10
Mendy caused Luiz all sorts of problems in central midfield, and the Brazilian was rendered anonymous by the Leicester star in many aspects.
Jacob Ramsey: 5/10
Ramsey was another player troubled by Mendy. The youngster could barely stitch together any moves for his teammates; while his runs were correctly read by the Leicester defenders.
Philippe Coutinho: 3/10
Mendy was so good in the game that nobody saw Coutinho play, as the Brazilian hardly touched the ball. This was one reason why Aston Villa lacked in the attack, as the main supply line was cut off, while Ollie Watkins and Leon Bailey had to do many things on their own.
Philippe Coutinho, and the entire Aston Villa team, have dropped off in form in the last month and half or so.
Also, Aston Villa have fallen to as low as 15th in the Premier League table – 4 losses and 1 draw in their last 5 games. No goal contribution from Phil in those games.
— Barça Buzz (@Barca_Buzz) April 23, 2022
Leon Bailey: 4/10
It has been a while since the Premier League has seen a good performance from Bailey, and the Jamaican’s struggles continued. The attacker was isolated for most parts, and those few positive moments in the attack were quickly controlled by Leicester’s backline.
Ollie Watkins: 6/10
Watkins did not have much to play with, as he had to work hard and create his own chances. He combined well with Bailey, although nothing positive came out of those link-ups.
SUBSTITUTES
Tim Iroegbunam: 5/10
Iroegbunam came on for Luiz and continued wandering about in midfield without making any impact.
Emiliano Buendia: 5/10
Buendia had one snapshot and barring that, there was not much to report on the Argentine’s cameo.
Marvelous Nakamba: N/A
A welcome return for the midfielder after a long period of absence. Nakamba barely had an impact after coming on in stoppage time.
