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Leeds United came within minutes of a precious away win before settling for a decent point and a 1-1 draw at Aston Villa on Saturday. Anton Stach’s brilliant free-kick was cancelled out late on by Tammy Abraham as Daniel Farke’s side made it two defeats in 14 Premier League games.
The Whites produced a near-perfect opening 45 minutes at Villa Park, defending brilliantly and frustrating their hosts. Stach grabbed the headlines on the half-hour mark, catching Emi Martinez out with a magnificent curling free-kick from at least 30 yards.
Leeds spent almost the entirety of the second-half defending their lead but eventually buckled to the pressure, with substitute Tammy Abraham forcing an effort in off his thigh following a corner. Villa pushed to grab a winner but Daniel Farke’s side eventually held on for another decent point.
YEP chief football writer Graham Smyth was at Villa Park to watch the action. Here are his Leeds United player ratings...
7. CM: Ethan Ampadu
8 - Put a huge amount into the performance. Made good decisions on the ball, put his body on the line defensively. Faded a little in influence later on as Barkley shone for Villa. | Getty Images
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8. CM: Ilia Gruev
7 - Covered ground, tried to contain Villa. Some tidy touches. Given a bit of a runaround as the second half went on. Took a yellow for the team. | Getty Images
9. CM: Anton Stach
9 - Incredible performance on his return from injury. So good on both sides of the ball. Tidy, dangerous and hard-working. Scored a beautiful goal too. | Getty Images
10. CAM: Brenden Aaronson
7 - Ran into trouble a few times and couldn't completely lock down his side defensively but did the hard yards. | Getty Images
11. ST: Dominic Calvert-Lewin
6 - Lots of effort, offensively and defensively, but wasted really good chances. Touch let him down. | Getty Images
12. CB: Jaka Bijol
7 - Some really physical defending, a little unlucky to get a yellow. | Getty Images