BEVERLY HILLS, October 24, (THEWILL) – Aston Villa welcomed Leeds to Villa Park on a Friday night English Premier League game for Matchday 6 and conceded three second half goals in 19 minutes to lose all three points and their record.
Prior to the game, Villa boasted a 100 per cent record in the Premier League and the gilt-edged chance to go top of the log with another win. At least until Everton faced Southampton on Sunday.
Leeds, on the other hand, came to the tie on the back of a 1-0 defeat to Wolves last time out. The Marcelo Bielsa side were 10th after five games, with two wins, a draw and two defeats.
There were no changes to the starting XI from Dean Smith for Villa. The English manager named the same Villa side which began the game in the 1-0 win over Leicester City last weekend.
Bielsa did not have that luxury having been dealt an injury blow this week, with key midfielder Kalvin Phillips set to miss up to six weeks with a shoulder problem. The coach called on Dutch centre back Pascal Struijk, a defender by trade, to deputise in Phillips’s place, with Englishman Luke Ayling moving to centre-back due to injuries for Liam Cooper and new signing Diego Llorente.
These changes made the otherwise brilliant Leeds performance all the more remarkable. The visitors thrashed the previously perfect Villa by three unsullied goals thanks to English striker Patrick Bamford’s second-half hat-trick.
Jack Grealish, who had impressed magnificently so far for Villa, had chances either side of the break, but couldn’t find the back of the net. However, to take nothing seat from win for the visitors, Leeds were fully deserving of the three points, with their number nine scoring three excellent goals.
The first was from a brilliant counter down the left from which Jack Harrison released Rodrigo, whose pacy low shot was parried out by Emiliano Martinez, in goal for Villa. Bamford reacted quickest, lashing the ball home from five yards.
The second was the pick of the bunch. Mateusz Klich, provided the assist when he drove forward through midfield and found the striker. Bamford showed immense composure to turn away from two markers before curling a sublime finish into the top-right corner.
Seven minutes after, and the hattrick was complete. This time it was a remarkable team goal, the culmination of a slick move. Portuguese right winger Helder Costa combined skillfully with Leeds’ central attacking midfielder Jamie Shackleton to feed Bamford, who finished off the move in some style.
It means Bamford is now on six league goals in five matches for the season. THEWILL will be interested in seeing how he progresses on this scoring record for the rest of the 2020/2021 EPL season.
With this result, Villa remain second, one point behind leaders Everton. Leeds, meanwhile, move above the champions Liverpool into third.
About the Author
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
