Aston Villa hold Leicester City in League Cup

LONDON: Lowly Aston Villa defied incessant pressure as they held out bravely for a 1-1 draw at Leicester City despite being unable to field a striker in their League Cup semi-final first leg on Wednesday.

Freddy Guilbert put Villa ahead with their first shot of the game after 28 minutes and Leicester, second in the Premier League and hoping to reach their first cup final since 2000, needed a 74th-minute equaliser by Kelechi Iheanacho to force a draw.

The second leg is on January 28 with the winners meeting either Manchester City or Manchester United in the final.

Leicester striker Jamie Vardy returned to the side after missing the previous three matches with a minor calf problem while Jonathan Kodjia's illness left Villa, 17th in the league, without a recognized forward. Agencies

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