Aston Villa and Leeds played out a pulsating 3-3 draw in Wednesday night’s Premier League clash at Villa Park, with Philippe Coutinho and Daniel James starring.
Leeds United fought back to earn a 3-3 draw at Aston Villa after Philippe Coutinho’s stellar first-half performance left Marcelo Bielsa’s team stunned on Wednesday. A blistering first-half saw five goals being scored, with attacking talent on display but defensive stability lacking.
Villa’s Ezri Konsa still had the time to collect a second yellow card late on as Villa ended the game with 10 men on the field.
After a shaky start, Villa calmed down, and Philippe Coutinho cancelled out an early opener by Daniel James with a vintage finish, before producing two mesmerizing passes for Jacob Ramsey to score twice in the span of five minutes to make it 3-1.
FULL-TIME Aston Villa 3-3 Leeds
Six goals, but nothing to separate the two sides. Diego Llorente’s strike ultimately rescues a point for Leeds#AVLLEE pic.twitter.com/MoyZyfPIsd
— Premier League (@premierleague) February 9, 2022
At the end of a frantic first period, James bravely nodded Leeds back into the game with a scrappy finish, before Diego Llorente made it 3-3 from a corner midway through the second half. Leeds are currently sitting 15th in the table with 23 points, six points ahead of third-from-bottom Norwich City, whilst Villa are 11th with 27 points. The Hard Tackle will now rate both sets of players after a six-goal thriller at Villa Park.
Aston Villa
Emiliano Martinez: 5/10
Made an early save to deny James, but he could not stop Leeds from scoring later in the first half. Perhaps he should have stepped off his line to stop James from heading home Leeds’ second just before the break. Could not do anything to prevent Llorente’s goal.
Matty Cash: 6/10
Had a solid first half and got the better of Jack Harrison. He deserves credit for a superb cross for Coutinho’s equalizer. Cash, as usual, was strong in his challenges. Another reliable performance. He was less effective in the second half.
Ezri Konsa: 6/10
Instead of retreating and failing to make a tackle, Konsa should have blocked James’ shot. After the interval, he was booked for a reckless challenge on James and then red-carded for obstructing Illan Meslier from passing to a Leeds player. Otherwise, Konsa fared well as he was rarely troubled, with Leeds having far more success down Mings’ side.
Tyrone Mings: 3/10
Had a shaky game at the back and was partly at fault for all of Leeds’ goals. He got his feet messed up for Leeds’ opener and then misjudged his leap, letting his smaller opponent James bundle home. Perhaps he should have wiped clear for Diego Llorente’s equalizer.
Mings also spurned a golden chance to equalize with a free header from seven yards out in what was an eventful game for the Englishman. To his credit, he brilliantly blocked Struijk’s header at the goal line.
Lucas Digne: 6/10
Defended admirably throughout and almost grabbed a goal when Llorente nearly bundled his corner into his own net. The Frenchman was combative, and he did well to shoot across the goal as Watkins was about to score. He had a solid performance but struggled to combine with his teammates and needs to provide more of an outlet going forward.
John McGinn: 7/10
McGinn played some some nice aerial passes over the top to the likes of Cash and Digne. He had a few great interceptions and passes in transition in a blistering first-half. The Scotsman stuck to his task while Villa faltered in the second half. Defensively, he put another in industrious performance and ended with 5 tackles, 1 interception and 3 clearances.
Douglas Luiz: 5/10
Luiz was excellent in the first half as he kept composure and kept things ticking along, and largely contained Leeds’ midfield. However, the Brazilian cut a disappointing figure and was not involved a great deal in the second half as he faded away when Leeds broke quickly.
Jacob Ramsey: 9/10
??????? Jacob Ramsey in his last three games for Aston Villa in the Premier League:
⚽️⚽️ vs Leeds United
❌ vs Everton
⚽️?️ vs Manchester UnitedEngland call up incoming….? #Villa pic.twitter.com/rqgpQaJyjf
— Mozo Football (@MozoFootball) February 9, 2022
Ramsey looks to be a special talent getting better and better with each passing game, and he was again brilliant on the day, with his adventurous runs helping Steven Gerrard’s side’s progress up the pitch. The youngster delivered an ice-cool finish with his left foot for his first goal before smashing in a second from Coutinho’s excellent pass. He offered a lot of running in the middle of the park and kept plugging away in the second half, showing the same desire but with less precision to his game.
Emiliano Buendia: 6.5/10
Buendia put in a gritty display and he was tenacious in winning the ball back and getting his team on the attack. He was lively in pockets of spaces but struggled with his killer passes. He worked tirelessly and did well to recover the ball back from James and then draw a foul, before being forced off with what seemed to be a hip injury.
Ollie Watkins: 6/10
Watkins was relatively quiet in the first half, with most of the Villa danger coming down the flanks, but there were a few great touches to hold the ball up and link up attacks. He was considerably better and more active after the break, winning fouls, pressing hard, and dragging his marker away with his clever movement.
Philippe Coutinho: 10/10
Coutinho was a bit quiet in the game’s opening exchanges but then exploded into life. He looked threatening whenever he was on the ball, swirling and dancing past Leeds players as if they were not there. Then, the little magician took the roof off Villa Park with a sublime two-touch finish to make it 1-1, before brilliantly turning provider twice for Jacob Ramsey’s bursting runs.
Philippe Coutinho’s game by numbers vs. Leeds:
80% pass accuracy
35 touches
4 duels won
3 ball recoveries
2 assists (most)
2 dribbles completed (most)
2 shots
2 chances created
1 goalBack to his best. ? pic.twitter.com/Jou28RN5ry
— Squawka Football (@Squawka) February 9, 2022
He also had a curling effort from range in the second half. He now has two goals and two assists in just three matches. As expected, a return to much familiar English shores is working miracles for the Brazilian.
Substitutes:
Carney Chukwuemeka: 5/10
Received an early booking and could have reacted quicker while marking Llorente for the equalizer. Guilty of playing a sloppy pass to Konsa, which Rodrigo pounced on.
Ashley Young: NA/10
Did not play enough to warrant a rating.
Calum Chambers: NA/10
Did not play enough to warrant a rating.
Leeds United
Illan Meslier: 5/10
Involved straight away with an early save from Tyrone Mings. He could not do much with any of Villa’s three goals as he was pretty much left stranded in all of them. The Frenchman was not tested enough in the second half, with Leeds dominating big periods of the game after that. Commanded decently on set-pieces, but still, needs consistency dealing with crosses into the area.
Luke Ayling: 4/10
A dreadful showing by Ayling. The full-back was absolutely outclassed and outpaced by Coutinho on multiple occasions. He got his foot in where he could, even if it meant making a mockery of himself against Coutinho, who made the Englishman look silly with a delightful nutmeg on one occasion. He was a decent driving force from deep in the first half but conceded needless fouls several times.
Diego Llorente: 6/10
Early on, he made several vital blocks and tackles, but he could not keep up with the tandem of Ramsey and Coutinho. Llorente totally lost track of Coutinho for Villa’s opening goal and did not really impress defensively during the match at Villa Park as he was left chasing shadows at times. He battled, distributed his passes well and took his goal brilliantly to get the game back to 3-3, but was largely helped out by some poor Villa defending.
Pascal Struijk: 6/10
Struijk was not really at fault for any of Aston Villa’s three goals since his teammates made blunders. He had his moments, like Llorente, with some blocks and tackles. He did not give Ollie Watkins space all night and was a menace from set-pieces in the second half. He also had a header cleared off the line.
Stuart Dallas: 7/10
Dallas put up another strong performance at left-back. Working effectively with Jack Harrison and James, he was influential in helping Leeds surge forward down the left. Defended well and almost entirely nullified Emi Buendia’s impact on the match. That said, he can provide way more when deployed in midfield.
Robin Koch: 5/10
Overrun in midfield and failed to keep hold of Villa’s attacking players and midfield runners. Should have been tight for Coutinho’s goal when he had an acre of space in the Leeds box. To be fair, he never stood a chance in a high-octane match like this.
Mateusz Klich: 6/10
Questions will be asked from Klich for Jacob Ramsey’s unmarked runs, but this was rather solid work from the Pole in the Whites’ engine room. He advanced and got Leeds on the attack when he had the chance, and he was terrific in the build-up to James’ second goal, back-heeling the ball through to Rodrigo.
Raphinha: 3/10
Raphinha had a real shocker on the right-hand side. He looked exhausted, overworked and rusty. This was arguably his worst performance in a Leeds shirt based on his high standards. He was ineffective from set-pieces and open play while he lost possession multiple times with his sloppy dribbling.
Rodrigo: 7/10
Rodrigo vs. Aston Villa:
49 touches
13/19 final third passes
5 chances created
5 ball recoveries
3/3 acc. long passes
3 crosses
2 interceptions
2 duels won
1 successful take-on
1 time fouled
1 assist ?️Excellent display. Registered an assist & created the most chances tonight. pic.twitter.com/5G9u0OmTcd
— LUFCDATA (@LUFCDATA) February 9, 2022
This was one of Rodrigo’s best performances this season, with the Spaniard posing a constant threat for Leeds throughout the first half. He was constantly creating chances and was very intense with his pressing. He forced Mings to squander possession to set up James’ opener and supplied the deflected cross for Llorente’s goal.
Jack Harrison: 6/10
Harrison had a quieter evening from an attacking point of view, but he battled in his defensive duels with Cash and played his part when he was called upon, trying to shut Cash’s danger from right-back.
Daniel James: 9/10
Superb finish for his opener and was not afraid to get stuck in at the near post for a scrappy second. He also had a spectacular effort that hit the woodwork. It was James’ best attacking performance so far in his Leeds career, as he looked sharp, instinctive and clinical in front of goal.
Dan James’ game by numbers vs. Aston Villa:
100% long ball accuracy
75% shot accuracy
10 passes attempted
7 passes completed
4 shots (=most)
3 shots on target
2 goals (=most)
2 crosses
2 duels won
1 foul wonBrilliant display. ? pic.twitter.com/6ex6l8it1c
— Squawka Football (@Squawka) February 9, 2022
Substitutes:
Adam Forshaw: NA/10
Did not play enough to warrant a rating.
