Leicester go second as fightback stuns Villa

Unbeaten Leicester City produced a thrilling second-half comeback to recover from 2-0 down to beat Aston Villa and move second on the table.

Jack Grealish curled in a deserved opener from 20 yards, his first goal, for a dominant Villa early on and Carles Gil swept in a second.

Ritchie de Laet volleyed the hosts a lifeline and Jamie Vardy prodded Leicester level.

Nathan Dyer scored the winner with a brave late header on his debut.

The winger had only signed from Swansea on loan on deadline day but made himself an instant hero and left Villa with just one win from five matches.

He just beat goalkeeper Brad Guzan to a chipped pass from the impressive Riyad Mahrez before taking a blow to the head and staying down injured as the ball rolled into the net.

Can Mahrez keep firing the Foxes?

Algerian winger Mahrez proved the inspiration behind Leicester's second-half recovery as he continued his impressive start to the season.

He had scored four goals already this season to help the Foxes to an unbeaten start, but a poor first half was mirrored by his side as they were dominated by Villa.

He came to life after the break with a stunning display of pace and skill, having a hand in all three of rejuvenated Leicester's second-half goals.

His improvement, and his side's, came when they switched to a 4-2-3-1 from a 4-4-2, as the Foxes took the game to Villa.

They were well on top when Gil doubled Villa's lead but, with Mahrez's corner flicked home by De Laet, Leicester continued to push and got the goals their second-half display deserved.

Fantastic Foxes

Leicester City have now gone nine Premier League games unbeaten, winning six, and are joint level with Manchester City as the Premier League's form team since 4 April.

Leicester have picked up 33 points from 14 matches and, with the exception of top scorers Manchester City, have scored at least 11 more goals than any other team in this period.

There were fears for their top-flight safety after the sacking of manager Nigel Pearson in the summer but, under former Chelsea boss Claudio Ranieri, they have continued where they left off.

Who will Grealish choose?

Villa had to cope with the summer losses of Fabian Delph , Ron Vlaar and Christian Benteke down the spine of their team, making their slow start to the season no surprise.

But 20-year-old Villa academy product Grealish helped his side control the first half, in just his second league appearance this season, and thoroughly deserved his first goal.

He struggled to repeat his influence after the break though as Villa were undone by a vibrant Leicester.

With the Republic of Ireland and England wanting him to commit his international future to them, repeats of Sunday's first-half performance will increase the interest in the talented midfielder.

Credit: The BBC