Both Aston Villa and Leeds were forced to come from behind at different times as the two sides played out a thrilling 3-3 draw at Villa Park.
It was the hosts who started brightly, but the home fans were quickly silenced when Dan James fired past Emiliano Martinez on nine minutes. Rodrigo pinched the ball from Tyrone Mings on the edge of the area to find James and the winger beat the Villa goalkeeper with a smart low finish to hand the visitors the lead against the run of play.
James almost made it two when his long-range effort rattled the woodwork, but minutes later Villa were level. Philippe Coutinho collected Matty Cash’s cross and, with Leeds standing off him, steered the ball low into the corner.
The turnaround was complete eight minutes later and Coutinho was heavily involved again. The Brazilian produced a sublime turn to get away from Luke Ayling before splitting open the Leeds defence with a perfectly weighted through ball for Ramsey, finished past Illan Meslier to hand Villa the lead.
The goals continued to come in an exhilarating first half and it was the Coutinho and Ramsey show again for Villa. Coutinho released Ramsey once again and the midfielder struck high into the net to spark wild celebrations from the home fans.
However, Leeds grabbed a lifeline on the stroke of half-time as when James grabbed his second of the game, heading Rodrigo’s deflected cross home at the far post.
After the break, Mings was in the right place at the right time to clear Pascal Struijk’s goalbound header, but the England captain was at fault for Leeds’ equaliser. His poor clearance went only as far as Diego Llorente, who hammered the ball home to bring the scores level again.
The drama continued late into the game as Esri Konsa was shown a red card three minutes from time for a second bookable offence, but it wasn’t to have an impact on the result as the hosts held firm through eight minutes of stoppage time to earn a share of the spoils on what was an enthralling night at Villa Park.
More to follow…
What’s next?
Newcastle face Aston Villa at St James’ Park on Sunday, live on Sky Sports; kick-off 2pm. Meanwhile, Everton host Leeds at Goodison Park on Saturday; kick-off 3pm.
Leeds secure point in thrilling draw at Villa
Source: Pinoy Portal Articles