Leicester returned to form in a spectacular style with a 4-0 thrashing of Aston Villa at the King Power Stadium that keeps Dean Smith's side in the relegation zone
Harvey Barnes capitalised on Pepe Reina's goalkeeping error to give the home side a first-half lead before Jamie Vardy came off the bench to score twice in the second half
Barnes added his second and Leicester's fourth late in the game as Villa capitulated to their fifth consecutive defeat in all competitions
Villa could have moved out of the drop zone with a victory but this defeat, in which they mustered only one shot on target, means they remain one place off the bottom
For Brendan Rodgers' side, this ended a four-game winless run and strengthens their grip on third spot by restoring their five-point advantage over Chelsea in fourth
Villa had started the brighter as they aimed to take the positives from their spirited Carabao Cup final defeat and had two good chances to score the opening goal of the game
Matt Targett's cross from the left found Conor Hourihane but he scuffed his shot and then Mbwana Samatta stretched to connect with a free-kick from the same flank but put it wide
From that point onwards, it was Leicester in the ascendancy and the home side twice went close from James Maddison corners as Villa struggled to cope with the aerial threat
Jonny Evans' header was well saved by Reina before Caglar Soyuncu should have done better when heading well over the bar while unmarked at the far post
Rodgers' side were warming to their task in the East Midlands cold with James Justin, deputising for Ben Chilwell at left-back, particularly impressive before the break
Kelechi Iheanacho headed wide from Ricardo Pereira's cross too but when the opening goal did come it owed plenty to a poor decision by the oldest player on the pitch
Marc Albrighton turned away from trouble and played a clever ball down the channel for Barnes to run onto but Reina made it easy for him by committing himself
The winger nudged the ball by him and then calmly finished beyond the backtracking Tyrone Mings to ease any lingering tension inside the King Power Stadium after a poor run of form
Iheanacho should have doubled the lead soon after the interval when he ran clean through on goal but struck his left-footed shot against the legs of Reina
The Nigeria forward had to make way for Vardy soon after and the Leicester hero, who missed the defeat to Norwich, did not have to wait long to extend his side's advantage
Mings leaned into Barnes' cross and referee Michael Oliver ruled the ball had struck his arm rather than his shoulder, awarding a penalty that was upheld after a VAR check
Vardy did the rest from the spot, going down the middle to deceive Reina, to score his 18th Premier League goal of the season - his first since before Christmas
His second followed before the night was through
 Evans' double tackle sparked a counter-attack and Vardy beat Reina with a fierce shot on the angle at the second attempt
There was still time for a fourth when Barnes made a near-post run and slotted home Albrighton's right-wing cross to score his sixth goal since the turn of the year
This was a much more assured performance by Leicester with the returning Wilfred Ndidi, making his first Premier League start since New Year's Day, commanding throughout
For Villa, the solution shows no sign of presenting itself
 "As the game went on, we looked more like how we've been for most of the season
 The resilience and effort was brilliant and in the second half we got our fluency back and some of our goals were outstanding
 We played some really good football at times
"The intensity is important to how we play and the pressure on the ball was much better
 That desire is so critical for us
 A real collective confidence has allowed us to be where we are, and our ambition is to stay there
 If we play like that and with that confidence, we have every chance
"This result is very, very important
 Both teams needed to win for different reasons, but our desire and quality has seen us through
 We were much more creative, dynamic and fast and all with a solid defensive base
" "It was a very tough night
 We started the game quite well but then we didn't defend corners well enough and we had a big mistake for the goal
"I didn't know what the penalty was given for - I thought it hit Tyrone Mings' shoulder - but it was given
 The penalty award was a massive moment
 We were still in the game
 It went against us - I thought wrongly - that's my opinion
"But then we became architects of our own downfall
 Being hard to beat needs to be our priority
 For periods we were but the scoreline is a harsh reflection
"Smith was clearly annoyed by the penalty decision that took the game away from Aston Villa but did he have a point? Jamie Carragher, watching the game in the  studio, certainly thought so
"There's no doubt for the penalty the ball hits the light blue of Tyrone Mings' shirt," said Carragher
 "VAR is brought in to bring errors out of the game
 for me, that's shoulder and the game should be allowed to carry on
"I think it's very harsh, and if the referee hadn't given it there's no way VAR would overturn it
"Smith described his own opinion on VAR as "irrelevant" but he was disappointed by referee Michael Oliver's original call
"Tyrone is adamant it is a shoulder," the Villa boss said afterwards in his press conference
 "It is a big gamble for Michael Oliver to call that as a penalty
 The gamble hasn't paid off in my opinion
"The young winger has arguably been Leicester's best player so far in 2020 and he was particularly excellent against Aston Villa, scoring twice and playing his part in the other two goals as well
"Barnes has been pretty much unplayable tonight," said  Andy Hinchcliffe
 "He showed his pace for the first goal and throughout he's shown his ability to go on the outside, and get crosses in, he'll drop a shoulder and go in-field as well
"His movement off the ball has also been brilliant
 He's had everything and has given Guilbert the run-around all evening
"Leicester are back in action against another relegation-threatened side when they travel to Vicarage Road to take on Watford in the lunchtime kick-off on Saturday
Aston Villa have another tough assignment at the weekend when they host Chelsea at Villa Park
 That game is live on Sky Sports Premier League from 5pm
 Kick-off is at 5
30pm
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