For Emiliano Martínez, this cold evening in Aston must have been eerily reminiscent of the World Cup in the Persian Gulf last month. There was the superb point-blank save to deny Jack Harrison and Leeds a certain draw on the brink of half-time; a replica of the free-kick from which Wout Weghorst, the Dutch forward who has just joined Manchester United, scored to force extra time in the quarter-finals; there were the dark arts that enraged Jesse Marsch on the sideline. And finally, there was a sweet victory at the end of it all.
Leeds substitute Patrick Bamford, who underwent groin surgery in Munich last month, came off the bench to strike but it proved little more than a consolation after goals from Leon Bailey and Emi Buendía got the victory for Villa. For Unai Emery, it is now 13 points from six Premier League games, eclipsing Steven Gerrard’s total from the first 13 games of the season. For Leeds, the worrying run continues; they have won two of their last 17 games in all competitions.
Leeds got off to a horrible start when Bailey cut in Diego Llorente and fired a shot into the far corner with less than three minutes remaining. The worst part was that it was a goal that came from a Leeds corner. An unmarked Marc Roca flew through the air as he attempted to convert Harrison’s cross and Ashley Young found Boubacar Kamara, who excelled at the base of Villa’s midfield. Kamara opened up the field in the Leeds half before turning Brendan Aaronson and picking out Bailey, whose sharp left-footed finish sent the home support wild.
Emery had to make two first-half changes, with Lucas Digne and Ollie Watkins forced off on the half-hour mark, and Leeds should have been at least level at the interval. Aaronson played the role of Teun Koopmeiners as Leeds tried to recreate Weghorst’s strike in Qatar and played the ball to Rodrigo but, under pressure from Douglas Luiz, the striker could not get a clear shot. Villa squandered a chance to double their lead when Bailey, played superbly by Young, cooked a simple pass which would have provided Watkins with an easy finish.
Emi Buendía (No. 10) heads Aston Villa’s second goal. Photograph: Andrew Boyers/Action Images/Reuters
Instead, Villa pushed back, inviting pressure, and Leeds twice came close to leveling before the break. Álex Moreno’s drive took him to the billboards after his sliding intervention to deny Rodrigoa a seemingly certain goal after the Leeds striker had dragged down Martínez and three minutes later the Villa and Argentina keeper superbly denied Harrison. Tyler Adams deflected the ball wide to Luke Ayling, whose brilliant first-time volleyed cross fell to the back post. Harrison hoped to take the ball home, but Martinez had other ideas. Soon the keeper was soaking up the high-fives from his teammates and Tyrone Mings, again impressive as a centre-back, chest-bumped the Argentine.
Throughout a spirited contest, Marsch took issue with Jarred Gillett, the fourth official who officiated his side’s FA Cup draw in Cardiff last Sunday, about Villa’s apparent time-wasting. Martinez was eventually carded by the referee, Michael Oliver, but Marsch was fighting a losing battle. When the Leeds manager found fault with Young in the first half, the experienced Villa defender proceeded to take an even longer serve on the halfway line. Marsch’s only change from the team that drew against West Ham in their last league game was to promote Harrison to their starting line-up.
Moreno had the chance to cap off a fine debut with a goal after an exchange with Jacob Ramsey and Villa extended their lead when Buendía pounced on the rebound of Bailey’s powerful strike. Illan Meslier put his left hand to Bailey’s drive but, despite his right hand reaching the ball, the Leeds keeper was unable to prevent Buendía’s header from penetrating him. Bamford struck in his first appearance since October but Villa held on for a record win.