Leeds United 0-3 Aston Villa
by Dom Smith
at Elland Road 

AS GOAL-SHY defender Calum Chambers curled Aston Villa’s third goal into the top corner, those Leeds fans not already heading for the exit stood up and cheered “MARCELO BIELSA, MARCELO BIELSA” proudly. Jesse Marsch looked forlorn. The Whites put in another sloppy performance. There has been no ‘new manager bounce’ for them.

The American will have been hoping the buzz of Elland Road on a midweek evening might have charged his team up to sting the visitors, but Steven Gerrard’s Aston Villa were too well-schooled and thanked the hosts for their steady flow of unforced errors.

There was a touch of luck about the opener on 22 minutes, when the visitors’ headline January signing Philippe Coutinho beat Illan Meslier with his right foot. Ollie Watkins felt he’d been pulled back as he lunged desperately but couldn’t quite reach Lucas Digne’s fine cross. Whether he’d been held or not became irrelevant just one pass later, as Poland international Matty Cash picked up the loose ball and pulled back for Coutinho. The midfielder on loan from Barcelona converted via a cruel deflection off Pascal Struijk.

Leeds at times were architects of their own downfall. Meslier passed straight to Watkins as he chased him down, but redeemed himself soon after when he got down to his left to make an astounding save from John McGinn. The Scot had been put through by a crafty flick from Coutinho, who showed his pedigree throughout.

There was hope for Leeds at the break, but only thanks to the scoreline. Joe Gelhardt came on at the interval — Marsch hoping for added directness and invention. But what Leeds have been really crying out for all night is a true attacking outlet. With that in mind, the loudest cheer of the night came when Jack Harrison made way for the returning Patrick Bamford. A striker. At last.

Within eight minutes, though, Villa had notched that crucial second goal. He already had an assist to his name, and now Cash had a goal as well. Danny Ings looked up and crossed for the unmarked right-back. Cash is a consistent performer for the midtable side, and it was clear why Atlético Madrid see him as a viable replacement for Newcastle signing Kieran Trippier as he took Ings’s ball down, cut back onto his left and fired through Meslier. Cash cashed in.

Leeds have lost all five of their Premier League games since earning a creditable 3–3 draw at Villa Park a month ago. A repeat of that was out of sight when, on 73 minutes, ex-England defender Calum Chambers made the most of his venture forward by curling a gorgeous right-footed shot that bent outwards, hugging the top left corner of the net with absolute precision. It was Chambers’s first Villa goal since joining on a free transfer from Arsenal in January — and it was a scorcher.

There was time for Bamford to venture forward and fire over before the boos consumed Elland Road. Leeds fans know they’re by no means safe.

For Villa, it was a huge win, and one they richly deserved. Their next six league games see them face West Ham, Arsenal, Wolves, Tottenham, Liverpool and Leicester. Not an appetising set of fixtures. They’ll be mightily relieved by this victory then.

Leeds have the worst defence in the Premier League. On nights like this, it shows.