Brendan Rodgers has talked up the importance of Leicester forward Kelechi Iheanacho to the team.
As AstonVilla reached their first league cup final for a decade with a dramatic 2-1 victory over Leicester in the second leg of their semi-final at Villa Park.
Trezeguet grabbed Villa’s stoppage-time winner to send the five-time victors to Wembley after Kelechi Iheanacho’s second-half strike had cancelled out Matt Targett’s 12th-minute opener to give Villa a 3-2 triumph on aggregate.
Rodgers said of Iheanacho: “He has worked very hard in training and knows he has the confidence of the coaching staff and everyone at the club.
“I also think it is natural and takes time. He made a big move, but hadn’t actually played a lot of football so for a young player, he needed games and confidence. It all stems from training.
“He has trained ever so hard and works so hard and now he has become really efficient where he is creating and scoring goals.
“It is brilliant for him because it was a difficult period when he came, but he is very much an important player for us.”
After moving to the King Power Stadium in the summer of 2017 for a reported fee of £25million, Iheanacho netted eight times in all competitions during his debut campaign.
The 23-year-old found life much harder last season and finished the term with only two goals from 35 appearances.
He endured a barren run of form which only ended at Luton in September when he found the net for the first time in 12 months and subsequently halted a run of 28 matches without a goal.
But while impressed with the hitman, Rodgers also knows the areas where he has to improve, adding: “He works with intensity and understanding.
