Leeds Player Ratings: Aston Villa 0 - 3 Leeds. A fantastic result which was fully deserved.

A Patrick Bamford hat-trick gave Leeds a fully deserved 3-0 win away against Aston Villa.

Leeds had the better of the first half with Rodrigo and Patrick Bamford having good chances, but Aston Villa went closest when Jack Grealish had a shot cleared off the line by Luke Ayling.

The second half followed a similar pattern and after 10 minutes Leeds took the lead. Good football through midfield created a shooting chance for Rodrigo, his shot was saved but Bamford was there to score the rebound.

Bamford doubled the lead with a great strike from the edge of the box. The got his hat-trick with a fantastic curling effort when surrounded by four Villa defenders. Leeds’ performance in the second half was excellent and they were in a different league to Aston Villa.

Time now to look at each player and how they performed. As always you can tell me how wrong I am @mightywhitespod or @ThruItAllLUFC on twitter.

STARTING LINEUP

Illan Meslier - A couple of good saves in the second half and distributed the ball well. Nothing to do for long periods. 7.5/10

Stuart Dallas - Good. Stepped in well when necessary and linked up well going forward. Full of running throughout and was good at both ends of the pitch. 8/10

Robin Koch - Couple of really sloppy errors in the first half but luckily nothing came from them. Second half he was never troubled. 7.5/10

Luke Ayling - Made a fantastic goal-line clearance to deny Jack Grealish, although it was his error that allowed the chance he more than made up for it. Very good throughout - looked like he plays centre-back every game. 8.5/10

Ezgjan Alioski - Couple of good crosses when he got forward, stood up well defensively throughout. 7.5/10

Pascal Struijk - Booked early and then another foul on Douglas Luiz. Barring those two tackles he played well. Passed it nicely and was in the right positions to sweep up. 6.5/10

Helder Costa - Started well but got quieter as the first half went on, most of the play was down the other side. Did really well to make clear he made no challenge when Grealish went down next to him. Got the assist for Leeds’ third goal with some good play. 7/10

Mateusz Klich - Lost the ball a couple of times in the opening 10 minutes but got more involved after that. Had to play deeper after the Struijk substitution and played some good longer passes. Fantastic break through midfield in the build up to Leeds’ second goal. Always in the right positions both on and off the ball. 8/10

Rodrigo - Had a frustrating first half, got into some good positions but couldn’t show his quality when he did. Good effort to set up the opening goal. Wonderful pass to find Costa in the build up to Bamford’s third goal. 8.5/10

Jack Harrison - Excellent throughout, consistently available down the left and created a few chances with his crosses. 8.5/10

Patrick Bamford - Much more involved than against Wolves. Missed a good chance late in the first half. Good striker’s instinct to follow up Rodrigo’s shot to give Leeds the lead. Great strike to double that lead. Wonderfully opened up his body to curl home for his hat-trick. 9.5/10

SUBSTITUTES

Jamie Shackleton (for Struijk, 21mins) - Provided great energy once he came on and was involved in some good attacking play for Leeds. His pace gave Leeds a different dimension through the middle of midfield. Excellent pass to Rodrigo in the build up to the opening goal. 7.5/10

Pablo Hernandez (for Rodrigo, 79mins) - Missed a good chance but played well in his cameo. N/A

Raphinha (for Costa, 83mins) - Couple of fantastic passes which caught the eye. N/A