Aston Villa 0 Leeds 3 - Report and pictures

How Villa respond to their first defeat of the campaign will say more about the long-term prospects of Dean Smith’s team than the four wins which preceded it.

Villa hosted Leeds last night needing only a point to go top of the table for the first time in 19 years.

Yet by the full-time whistle they were well beaten. Patrick Bamford, the villain of the piece when the two clubs last met in the Championship 18 months ago, scoring a 19-minute hat-trick in the second half to condemn Villa to their first defeat in nine Premier League fixtures.

The match had been up for grabs until Bamford broke the deadlock from close range 10 minutes into the second half. After that Leeds were in control and Villa fortunate not to lose by more as the energy which had been such a feature of their early season success suddenly deserted them.

So too did the defensive discipline which had seen them conceded only twice in the opening four fixtures.

Things might have been different had Grealish not seen a first-half effort cleared off the line. The Villa skipper was also denied a stunning goal by Leeds goalkeeper Illan Meslier, who also saved from Ezri Konsa.

But the visitors, relentless in their running, also went close in the opening half through Bamford. It was they - and not Villa - who always appeared to have a greater control on proceedings.

While Smith named an unchanged starting line-up for the third straight match, once again Villa were facing an opponent missing key players.

Already without midfielder Kalvin Phillips due to a shoulder injury, Leeds were also forced into a defensive reshuffle with centre-back Liam Cooper unable to recover in time from the groin strain which also forced him out of Monday’s 1-0 defeat to Wolves.

That saw Luke Ayling, typically a right-back, instead utilised in central defence, with Ezgjan Alioski coming in at left-back and Stuart Dallas switching flanks.

Phillips was replaced by Pascal Struijk in the heart of midfield but the Belgian’s night lasted barely 20 minutes after he was booked early for a scything challenge on Grealish and then withdrawn by Marcelo Bielsa after risking a second yellow by catching Douglas Luiz late.

Leeds started the sharper of the teams, Bamford sending an early header wide of the post from Alioski’s deep cross.

The latter was causing plenty of problems down Villa’s right and delivered a low ball into the box which Rodrigo hammered toward goal, the shot blocked by Ezri Konsa.

Villa gradually began to get a foothold in the match but Trezeguet was unable to take advantage when Dallas presented him the ball thanks to a reckless pass across the face of his own goal. From 20 yards out the Egyptian international might have been better shooting first time but instead tried to take on Robin Koch and lost possession.

On 27 minutes Grealish came within a whisker of opening the scoring. Watkins won possession on the right flank before cutting inside and though Trezeguet was unable to make clean contact on an attempted shot, the ball ran to Grealish at the far post. The skipper’s left-footed effort flew past Meslier, only to be blocked milimetres from the line by the recovering Ayling.

Grealish was involved in the next notable incident four minutes before the break when he tumbled in the box after receiving the slightest of touches from Helder Costa. Both referee Paul Tierney and VAR Stuart Attwell ruled, fairly, not to award a penalty.

Then came Leeds’ best chance of the opening period, as a counter attack saw the ball switched quickly to Jack Harrison on the left wing. His cross in the box was perfectly placed to meet the run of Bamford but the striker fired wide of goal.

Harrison did get an effort on target early in the second half but his low shot was held at the near post by Villa keeper Emiliano Martinez.

The hosts had good chances to take the lead themselves before Bamford finally broke the deadlock. Grealish was denied what would have been a superb opener by Meslier, who was equal to the Villa skipper’s shot after he had raced from his own half and across the face of goal. The keeper then tipped Ezri Konsa’s volley from Ross Barkley’s corner over the bar.

But it was Leeds who went ahead, Harrison finding the run of Rodrigo who shot from the left-hand side of the Villa box. Martinez proved equal to it, diving to his left, but the ball ran to Bamford who from six yards out really couldn’t miss.

The goal meant Villa were now trailing for the first time in the Premier League since their 3-0 defeat to Manchester United on July 9 and 12 minutes later they fell further behind.

Barkley lost possession in his own half and Bamford, who just a few minutes earlier had seen appeals for a penalty waved away after acrobatically reacting to contact from Mings in the box, thumped a shot into the top corner from 20 yards out.

His hat-trick goal, seven minutes later, was arguably an even better finish. Costa played the ball in from the right and with three defender’s in attention, Bamford curled a finish into the top corner to seal the three points.

Substitute Pablo Hernandez missed the chance to increase Villa’s pain when he fired over, while Watkins summed up the home side’s second half when he shot wide when well placed.

Teams

Villa (4-2-3-1): Martinez, Cash, Konsa, Mings, Targett, McGinn, Luiz, Trezeguet (Traore 66), Barkley, Grealish, Watkins Subs not used: Elmohamady, Engels, Nakamba, Hourihane, Davis, Traore, Steer (gk).

Leeds (4-1-4-1): Meslier, Dallas, Koch, Ayling, Alioski, Struijk (Shackleton 21), Costa (Dias 83), Klich, Rodrigo (Hernandez 79), Harrison, Bamford Subs not used: Poveda-Ocampo, Roberts, Raphinha, Casilla (gk).