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Many people said that Patrick Bamford was not cut out for the Premier League. Many people reckoned that Aston Villa was about to rise to the top of the table for the first time in nine years. All those people were made to look like idiots when Leeds raced Villa uneven here and secured victory thanks to a wonderful hat-trick from their center forward.
That sent Marcelo Bielsa’s team to third place in the table and brought Bamford’s tally for the season to six goals in six league games. His previous 27 matches at this level had produced just one, and his Championship hit rate was uneven. “I’m very happy for him,” said Bielsa of Bamford. “There have been no significant changes [to how he plays]It’s just that now it’s being more efficient. “
Villa had won all four of his previous games this season and hadn’t even been left behind in one game. But Leeds had them fight continuously in this match and Bamford should have shot the visitors up front even before their salvo in the second half. Once they took the initiative, they rarely seemed to give it up and might have left their hosts even more disturbed. For Villa, this was a reality check inflicted by a team whose game was at times bordering on the supernatural.
The only pity was that hardly anyone was here to testify. This was one of those games where the absence of the fans was especially poignant. The first high-level meeting between these two noble clubs since 2004 should have been animated by screaming crowds, but instead Villa Park was all lit up but sterile, a theater without music. But the show must go on and Leeds in particular produced a show of beautiful style and substance. Bamford scored the goals but this was a collective triumph orchestrated by Bielsa.
However, the portents were not good for the visitors. While Dean Smith was able to send an unchanged cast for the third straight game, Bielsa had to readjust his squad due to the injury of his midfield teacher, Kalvin Phillips, and the continued absence of his captain, Liam Cooper. That required several adjustments on defense and Pascal Struijk had the formidable task of replacing Phillips in midfield. That plan soon had to be revised, as Struijk received an early booking for a foul on Jack Grealish and then risked a red card. Bielsa replaced him after just 21 minutes, introducing Jamie Shackleton in his place.
Leeds would have been up front on stage had Bamford not sent a header in the fourth minute after a cross from Ezgjan Alioski. Leeds continued to attack like a clever swarm, forcing several emergency interventions from local players before Villa hinted at his own creative quality. Naturally, Grealish was instrumental in that, but Ross Barkley and Trezeguet had little influence.
Luke Ayling rescued Leeds midway through the first half by dispossessing Ollie Watkins after the forward pounced on a loose pass through the area from Stuart Dallas. Ayling soon had to save his team again, finishing off a shot from Grealish off the line after a failed effort by Trezeguet ran kindly for the Villa captain. Villa’s threat grew but Leeds came close to looting a goal before the break thanks to a quick counterattack. Harrison swooped down the left and sent a low cross into Bamford. Under pressure from Ezri Konsa, Bamford fired wide from 10 meters.
And so a quietly fascinating first half ended scoreless. Within two minutes of the restart, Harrison forced Emiliano Martinez to make a save after cutting from the left and unloading a shot from 16 yards. Grealish then tried to break through on his own and almost succeeded, passing three opponents from the middle of the way and dancing into the area. Illan Meslier made a vital save in the home goal and then, from the next corner, turned a Konsa volley over the crossbar. The importance of those saves was soon reinforced at the other extreme, when Bamford fired the visitors up front. He too had started the play before Leeds worked wide towards Rodrigo, whose low shot was parried with one hand by Martinez. Bamford reacted faster to guide the ball into the net from close range.
After that, the visitors took over. There was nothing Villa could do in the 67th minute other than marvel when Bamford picked up a pass on the D and swept away with a wonderful left-footed shot.
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Bamford completed his hat-trick by crowning a brilliant play involving Rodrigo, Hélder Costa and Shackleton, and the forward fired a shot into the upper left corner of the net from 16 meters. Watkins threw a late shot for Villa, and John McGinn threw one over the bar from long range. But Leeds lost neither its leadership nor its dynamism.
“I was disappointed with how we reacted after the first goal,” said Dean Smith. “They seemed like a very good team after that and we seemed like a poor team. But you have to give Leeds credit, they were excellent with their one touch pass in the second half and beat us comfortably. And it is the first time this season that I am disappointed ”.
