Leeds Player Ratings: Leeds 0 - 1 Aston Villa.

Leeds United produced a subdued performance and lost 1-0 to Aston Villa at Elland Road.

Villa took an early lead. A corner came to Ollie Watkins on the edge of the box. He went to shoot but slipped, which only served to turn it into a good cross which Anwar El Ghazi controlled well before finishing. For the rest of the half, both sides had openings but only forced saves you would expect the respective goalkeepers to make.

In the second half, Aston Villa defended well. Leeds had plenty of the ball but couldn’t really create anything barring one great headed chance for Raphinha. The main talking point was Matt Targett somehow not getting sent off for a second yellow card despite his fouls after being booked. As well as a late penalty appeal on Bamford that nothing came from.

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 - Not at fault for the goal. Made a few decent saves. 6.5/10

Luke Ayling - Drove forward when he could and put in a couple of decent crosses. Won a fair few tackles and was strong in the air. 7.5/10

Diego Llorente - Passed the ball well and generally stepped in well defensively when he needed to. 7/10

Liam Cooper - Played El Ghazi onside for the opening goal, but as the defence was set for a shot rather than a cross I can see how that happened, he was staying with Mings. Made one excellent interception which stopped Villa going through on goal. Otherwise solid. 6.5/10

Stuart Dallas - Some nice interplay between him and Raphinha down the left in the first half, which dropped off at the end of the half. Moved into midfield following Alioski’s introduction. Lots of energy but not the same level of quality we have seen previously. 6.5/10

Pascal Struijk - Did ok, but as Villa played without a number 10 he ended up playing as more of a central midfielder than a DM. Couple of headers won, no major errors. 6/10

Helder Costa - Lost El Ghazi for the opening goal, but he was coming out for a shot rather than the cross it accidentally became. Not positive enough on the ball. Everyone wanted him to make the most of this chance, he didn’t. 5/10

Mateusz Klich - Popped up all over the pitch in the first half, but as with everyone the end product wasn’t there. Played deeper after Struijk went off, but he couldn’t find the range with his passing when he tried anything creative. 5/10

Tyler Roberts - Involved heavily in Leeds good moments early on and had a couple of decent efforts on goal. Lost a ball badly from a short corner which resulted in a chance for Ollie Watkins. Good in the build up, but not there with the end product in the first half. In the second half, didn’t see the good parts anymore. 5.5/10

Raphinha - Some great moments in the first half but the final pass/shot wasn’t there. Saw less of him in the second half, until his great chance late on which he made a bit of a mess of. 6/10

Patrick Bamford - Not in the game at all. Villa defended well and he never got a clear opening. Effort was there. 5/10

SUBSTITUTES

Ezgjan Alioski (for Struijk, 53mins) - Didn’t show anything of note. Hearing Bielsa’s frustration with him said a lot. 5/10

Jack Harrison (for Costa, 64mins) - Very quiet barring one great cross to set up a great chance for Raphinha. 5.5/10

Pablo Hernandez (for Roberts, 71mins) - Got involved in a lot of Leeds build up but it didn’t come to much. 6/10