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Before his game against Leeds, Dean Smith sounded mildly irritated by the focus on the injured Jack Grealish and Aston Villa’s inability to win a Premier League game without their captain this season. “We are not a one-man team,” Villa’s coach had insisted, before his anger was forgotten and his argument validated by a consummate victory.
Anwar El Ghazi’s early attack was enough for a well-deserved victory at Elland Road as Villa mocked his captain’s absence and smothered Leeds with a mature and collected display. The visitors restricted the expansive side of Marcelo Bielsa a few glimpses of the goal of Emiliano Martínez, pressed with forceful effect in the first half and counterattacked strongly in the second. Leeds’ frustration was summed up by seeing Bielsa pacing furiously up and down his technical area in the final stages, shouting instructions that were ignored. For the first time in four games this season, Villa delivered without Grealish as their driver.
“It’s good to win without Jack,” Smith admitted. “There’s been a lot of talk that we didn’t win without Jack, but that was against Liverpool, who were at the top of the league, Leicester in second and Wolves, who were seventh. None of them were easy games, but I am sure that today he will be cheering for this victory at home. Few teams will limit Leeds to as few opportunities as we did. We got our tactics right and the players deserve huge credit. “
Leeds were subdued by their standards and did not come close to the potent level that pushed Southampton aside on Tuesday, but almost led after 26 seconds when a missed shot from Patrick Bamford presented Raphinha with a difficult but decent opportunity at the far post. The unmarked Brazilian could not connect. In the 89th minute, he ran into a substitute cross from Jack Harrison, but headed off Villa’s goal. Leeds had few chances in the middle and while Bielsa surprised by stating that his team was superior, he was correct in stating that the hosts contributed to their own downfall with a lack of precision and imagination in the final third.
“We had many minutes of domination and very few when we were dominated,” he said. “The goal was not intentional, it was a shot in which a player slipped and became a pass for a player who was not asking for the ball.”
But it is possible that El Ghazi sought a little revenge. The Dutch international was sent off on his last visit here in 2019, when Bielsa ordered his players to let Villa draw after a controversial Leeds goal as the two chased promotion.
The Ghazi carried the biggest threat during the first half. In keeping with his outstanding performance, the winger took and eventually converted from the corner revealing a lack of focus in Leeds’ defense. His set piece crossed the area to Ollie Watkins, who lost his balance when he fired, but managed to find El Ghazi, who had entered the area like a ghost. The winger, who played with Bielsa at Lille, beat Illan Meslier from close range, but did not celebrate due to an alleged offside. VAR confirmed that Liam Cooper had played him.
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Martinez denied Leeds a quick draw when he blocked a powerful shot from Tyler Roberts after Raphinha’s push was deflected into the forward’s path. Otherwise he was relatively calm, and it wasn’t until the half hour mark that Leeds began to find his rhythm and brought Raphinha into the game to a greater extent.
Villa was expertly organized by Tyrone Mings, but his entire bottom line impressed, while Marvelous Nakamba and John McGinn worked tirelessly in central midfield. The pressure from Leeds was comfortably absorbed and Grealish’s absence, for once, was not felt.
