Luckless Leeds fall to Bailey and Co at Villa Park
1
LEEDS paid the price for wasteful finishing as gritty Aston Villa snatched an unlikely 2- 1 Premier League win.
Leon Bailey’s early goal and Emi Buendia’s header grabbed the points, Patrick Bamford netting a late consolation, as the hosts rode their luck at Villa Park.
Emi Martinez brilliantly denied Jack Harrison and Wilfried Gnonto while Rodrigo had a shot cleared off the line and a goal disallowed for offside.
But Villa hung on, scoring at vital times, to leave Leeds wondering how they left empty handed.
The hosts recovered from their embarrassing FA Cup exit to Stevenage, which had taken the gloss off what has been a positive start to Unai Emery’s reign.
They needed a performance and result to banish any hangover, especially following last week’s underwhelming derby draw with Wolves.
They got a result, if not a stellar display, and survived before Buendia’s second- half clincher.
For Leeds, having avoided an FA Cup upset at Cardiff, any early- season optimism has disappeared to be replaced by anxiety.
Just two league wins since August has left them teetering on the edge of another relegation battle in a congested bottom half. Defeat on Friday extended their winless run to seven in all competitions.
Ashley Young was understandably proud of a deserved victory.
“We knew it was going to be tough,” he said. “We know what comes in games against Leeds, they are always a bit feisty. We were up for that tonight. Every man from the keeper to the forwards were fantastic tonight. I’m not sure if it was a foul in the build- up to their goal and we had to dig deep and we did that superbly tonight.
“We needed to bounce back. I’m not too sure it was a point to prove because our performances in the league have been very good.”