Barnes & Vardy At The Double In Villa Triumph
Brendan Rodgers made just two changes to the starting XI which defeated Birmingham City in the Emirates FA Cup Fifth Round on Wednesday, with full-back James Justin coming in for the injured Ben Chilwell, while Barnes replaced winger Demarai Gray.
While Mbwana Samatta went close for Villa early on, City’s first opportunity came as Jonny Evans' emphatic header was saved by Pepe Reina, before Barnes sent his follow-up effort over the bar.
Shortly after, James Maddison’s whipped cross located Çağlar Söyüncü in space in the area, but the Foxes centre-back’s header was too high to trouble Reina as City continued to create openings.
Leicester appealed for a penalty on 22 minutes, as Justin fell to the floor following a challenge from Frédéric Guilbert. The French right-back, though, did appear to get a decisive touch on the ball.
Perhaps the home side’s best opportunity came on 32 minutes as Ricardo Pereira crossed for Kelechi Iheanacho, whose flicked header glanced agonisingly wide of the Reina's near post.
The sustained pressure continued in earnest, however, as Dennis Praet dispossessed Douglas Luiz in the middle before commuting to Barnes, but the Academy graduate’s effort was well saved.
City’s breakthrough came with five minutes to go until the break as Marc Albrighton played an exquisite pass through to Barnes, prompting Reina to dash off his line, despite having defensive cover.
Barnes, though, calmly touched the ball beyond the Spaniard’s reach before threading the eye of a needle between Mings and Björn Engels, who rushed back in vain, to give Leicester a deserved lead.
After the interval, meanwhile, it could have been 2-0 to City within minutes of the restart as Justin’s header released Iheanacho, but former Liverpool shot-stopper Reina made a commendable save.
Conor Hourihane fired over as the visitors briefly rallied, but in the 59th minute, the Club’s all-time top Premier League goalscorer, Jamie Vardy, returned after a fortnight away, replacing Iheanacho.
When Mings was adjudged to have handled it in the area - a decision confirmed by VAR - there was no questioning the man to take it as Vardy stepped up – firing it low and hard past Reina.
With 11 minutes to play, Evans and Wilfred Ndidi broke up play, allowing Barnes to burst forward and find Vardy, who riffled home a quick-fire finish into the bottom corner to stretch City’s lead yet further.
As torrential rain fell, the late-winter tempest didn't prevent Barnes from striking again on 85 minutes, arrowing Albrighton’s cross into the bottom corner to cap off a magnificent performance.
Major moment
After being frustrated by their visitors for 40 first-half minutes, a moment of brilliance from Marc Albrighton, combined with the composure of Harvey Barnes, put the Foxes on their way to success.
With a precious one-goal advantage at the interval, City were able to play with more attacking freedom in the second half, leading to an authoritative overall performance from Brendan Rodgers’ men.
Who impressed?
Gerry Taggart said live on LCFC Radio: "Well, I could give it to Ricardo Pereira for his defensive performance tonight on Jack Grealish. He hasn’t had a sniff all night and that was down to Ricardo. Jonny Evans was majestic in the back line and James Justin was sensational, but there’s only one player I can give it to and that’s Harvey Barnes.
"He scored two, set up the penalty for Jamie Vardy and he’s had a fantastic game."
Where does it leave us?
Third-place Leicester’s 16th win of 2019/20 puts them on 53 points, five above Chelsea, in fourth, while the gap to fifth-placed Manchester United is extended to eight with nine games to play.
Coming up…
The Foxes travel to Hertfordshire on Saturday to tackle Nigel Pearson’s Watford at Vicarage Road in the Premier League (12:30pm kick-off), before welcoming Chelsea to King Power Stadium in the quarter-finals of the FA Cup on Saturday 21 March (12:30pm kick-off).
All times GMT.