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Jamie Vardy continued his red-hot form as ruthless Leicester dismantled Aston Villa 4-1 to keep Premier League leaders Liverpool in sight.<\/p>\nJamie Vardy continued his red-hot form as ruthless Leicester dismantled Aston Villa 4-1 to keep Premier League leaders Liverpool in sight.<\/p>\n
The former England international bagged a brace to net for an eighth straight game and ensure the Foxes closed the gap on the Reds at the top to eight points.<\/p>\n
Kelechi Iheanacho and Jonny Evans also scored to help Leicester set a new club record of eight consecutive top-flight wins.<\/p>\n
Jack Grealish did make it 2-1 just before the break but the Foxes were rarely in danger.<\/p>\n
Brendan Rodgers\u2019 second-placed side are 14 points clear of fifth-placed Manchester United and refusing to budge in the title race.<\/p>\n
In contrast, Villa sit 17th after they were thumped, slipping to a fifth defeat in seven games.<\/p>\n
Before, the hosts remembered former boss Ron Saunders, who took them to the First Division title in 1981, after he died aged 87 on Saturday.<\/p>\n
From the start, Villa were second best and James Maddison was foiled by Ezri Konsa\u2019s block after just two minutes.<\/p>\n
It was a warning Villa failed to heed during a first half where they were wide open and Leicester should have taken the lead after 10 minutes.<\/p>\n
Caglar Soyuncu knocked Maddison\u2019s deep free-kick back for Evans but, just four yards out, the defender stabbed at Tom Heaton.<\/p>\n
Immediately, Villa broke to spurn their own golden chance when Matt Targett crossed for Anwar El Ghazi to rattle the bar from six yards.<\/p>\n
With the chance went Villa\u2019s early hopes and they swiftly lost any grip of the game when Vardy continued his scoring streak after 21 minutes.<\/p>\n
Wesley lost the ball and the lively Iheanacho slipped the striker in to race clear and round Heaton.<\/p>\n
The in-form Vardy miscued his kick when shaping to shoot but recovered to tap in, despite Konsa\u2019s efforts on the line.<\/p>\n
Vardy is now just three games away from equaling his own Premier League record of scoring in 11 consecutive games.<\/p>\n
Villa\u2019s problems were partly of their own making with Tyrone Mings unable to cover having already suffered a hamstring injury and the defender was immediately replaced by Bjorn Engels.<\/p>\n
The hosts remained open at the back and Konsa blocked Vardy\u2019s effort before Engels had to make a decisive tackle to stop Vardy teeing up Iheanacho.<\/p>\n
The Foxes threatened at will while Villa could not handle Vardy\u2019s pace and Iheanacho\u2019s movement.<\/p>\n
Villa were guilty of over-playing when they did go forward and were punished four minutes before the break.<\/p>\n
There was a touch of fortune but Leicester deserved to double their lead when Maddison crossed and Iheanacho diverted in at the near post.<\/p>\n
The Foxes were cruising but Grealish pulled a goal back in first-half injury time when he curled in from 16 yards after the visitors failed to clear a corner.<\/p>\n
Leicester, though, wasted no time in restoring their two-goal lead four minutes after the break.<\/p>\n
Evans escaped Villa\u2019s defense and was left unmarked to thump in a brilliant header from Maddison\u2019s corner.<\/p>\n
The game was won although Maddison should have made it 4-1 after 67 minutes only to clip the post.<\/p>\n
Harvey Barnes also fired over five minutes later and Vardy wrapped up the game when he raced onto Dennis Praet\u2019s ball to roll under Heaton with 15 minutes left.<\/p>\n
It was his 16th goal of the season and Soyuncu was denied a fifth by Heaton soon after as Leicester ran riot.<\/p>\n