- Aston Villa went 2-0 up with goals bookending halftime
- Leicester struck twice in 10 minutes to pull level with 8 minutes to go
- Nathan Dyer scored a debut goal in the 89th minute to win it
Leicester City found themselves down 2-0 just after the hour mark, but the Foxes simply wouldn’t allow that to happen.
Instead, Claudio Raneiri’s bunch completed a stunning comeback to win 3-2 to remain unbeaten on the season and move up to second in the Premier League table with 11 points.
Being a local derby, the game had a palpable atmosphere to it early on, and it reflected on the field with bright yet cautious attacking play and physical attitudes. Leicester had a pair of chances go just over the bar in the opening 10 minutes.
Things settled down a few minutes later, and the chances dried up, but the atmosphere in King Power Stadium did not. Despite a lack of cutting edge as the game progressed, the tension continued to build and came to a head six minutes before halftime. A frantic spell in front of the Leicester goal ended with the ball squirting out to Jack Grealish in acres of space above the box, and he delivered a curling effort that left Kasper Schmeichel with no chance to stop Aston Villa from taking the lead.
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Just moments after the halftime break, Jamie Vardy nearly pulled Leicester level with a stunning back-heel flick that went just wide of the post. The Foxes came out of the interval with real zest but didn’t immediately profit from it, and that would be a problem later.
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Aston Villa scored their second, a beautiful swerving effort from Carles Gil who received the ball at the top of the box after lots of hard work by Gabriel Abgonlahor down the left flank.
The second goal forced the home side to bring on striker Leonardo Ulloa, sacrificing new signing Gokhan Inler who was less impactful than manager Claudio Raneiri would have hoped for his debut. Tim Sherwood responded by immediately pulling goalscorer Gil in favor of Jordan Ayew.
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Leicester, though, weren’t phased and continued to push. A corner in the 70th minute finally bore fruit as Ritchie De Laet redirected at the near post, and while the ball was cleared off the line by Ashley Westwood, goal-line technology correctly ruled the ball in over the line. The goal is De Laet’s
The goal galvanized the hosts, and the Foxes pushed for another, which would come soon. Danny Drinkwater crossed into the box for Jamie Vardy, and the Leicester frontman beat a pair of Villa defenders to the ball to poke home an equalizer.
But Leicester wasn’t finished. A third - the winner - would be delivered in thumping fashion by debutant Nathan Dyer, who came on at halftime. A ball over the top from the electric Riyad Mahrez came down in the center of the box, and Dyer became the second Fox attacker to perfectly split the Villa defenders. Dyer stuck out a leg and poked the ball home just before being pummeled by Guzan.
That was it for Villa, who had nothing left to offer. They were unable to capitalize on the chance to move into the top half of the table, and instead remain languished in the bottom quarter.