Aston Villa Defeat Leicester City 2-1 in 2nd Leg to Advance to Carabao Cup Final

Aston Villa booked a place in the 2020 Carabao Cup final after defeating Leicester City 2-1 on Tuesday, completing a 3-2 aggregate victory.

Dean Smith's Villans took the lead after Matt Targett lashed home the opener after only 12 minutes.

The Foxes dominated the game afterwards and finally grabbed a 71st-minute equaliser through Kelechi Iheanacho.

The away side were the most convincing on the night, but they couldn't find a second goal, and a penalty shootout appeared likely.

However, there was a shocking twist as Trezeguet scored a 93rd-minute winner against the run of play.

Brendan Rodgers will have been pleased with how his Foxes responded to going a goal down, but their initial failure to mark Jack Grealish contributed to Villa's opening strike.

Leicester had been menacing in the opening moments, with James Maddison going close three times to finding the back of the net. An injured Jamie Vardy watched on from the bench after being named as a substitute, and it was Villa that gained a surprise advantage.

Grealish's crafty assist found Targett in the box, allowing the overlapping full-back a clean strike at goal that sent Villa Park wild.

It was a disappointing moment for the visitors, but they quickly got on with the job of searching for an equaliser.

Grealish continued to be a problem for the Foxes. Leicester's Youri Tielemans thought he had scored after 34 minutes, but his effort was tipped onto the bar by Villa goalkeeper Orjan Nyland.

The flow of traffic on the pitch continued to move towards the Norwegian's goal, but Villa's counter-attacking threatened to double the lead. A perfect cross from Grealish beat the Foxes defence and it seemed Villa would score before the ball slipped out of play past the post.

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Rodgers turned to Vardy on the bench and brought on his top scorer in a bid to turn the game. For the first time, Villa had started to control possession and frustrate their opponents.

However, Vardy's presence influenced the game, and a refreshed Leicester attack allowed Iheanacho to make it 1-1.

Harvey Barnes fired a low shot across the six-yard box, and the Nigeria international emphatically finished at the far post.

The equaliser sucked the life out of Villa, and their supporters were riddled with nerves in the final stages.

Leicester continued to turn the screw, with Maddison and Vardy in tandem, but Villa dug in to force an apparent penalty shootout.

Out of the blue, Villa found a dramatic winner with almost the last kick as substitute Trezeguet volleyed home from Ahmed Elmohamady's cross.

The crowd went onto the pitch at the final whistle. Villa fans were determined to celebrate after one of their biggest nights in recent times.

What's Next

Both clubs are in Premier League action on Saturday. Leicester will host Chelsea, while Villa travel to Bournemouth. Villa will feature in the League Cup final at Wembley Stadium on March 1 against either Manchester City or Manchester United, who play the second leg of their semi-final on Wednesday.