By TOM COLLOMOSSE
Published: 16:54 EST, 10 December 2024 | Updated: 16:57 EST, 10 December 2024
Sometimes all you need is a bit of luck. With time ticking away, Unai Emery was raging as Aston Villa looked like throwing away two points thanks to dreadfully slack defending.
Then moments after replacing Youri Tielemans, Ross Barkley’s shot from range deflected off RB Leipzig substitute Lukas Klostermann and Villa had the win that pushes them closer to an automatic place in the Champions League last 16.
Yet before that, Villa had been the authors of their own downfall – not for the first time, either.
First it was Tyrone Mings picking up the ball inside his own penalty area against Club Brugge and allowing the Belgians to score the only goal of the game.
And now in Leipzig, two moments of dire work at the back nearly stopped Villa taking three points from a game they controlled virtually from start to finish.
Despite goals in either half from John McGinn and substitute Jhon Duran – a brilliant strike from distance – Villa almost had to settle for a draw as their sloppiness allowed Lois Openda and Christoph Baumgartner to equalise twice and earn Leipzig their first point of this campaign.
It could have been even worse for Villa. In the closing minutes, Pau Torres gave the ball straight to Openda only for the Leipzig forward to shoot too close to Emi Martinez. But then came Barkley’s strike to earn Villa their straight victory.
After a sequence of eight matches without a win, Villa bounced back with home victories over Brentford and Southampton to lift themselves back into contention for a top-four finish.
This was, however, always likely to be a sterner test. Emery opted for a three-man defence to shackle Leipzig’s dangerous forwards Openda and Benjamin Sesko, with Matty Cash and Lucas Digne operating as wing-backs.
There was no place in the line-up for Duran, even though he scored the only goal against Southampton. Ollie Watkins was restored in the No9 position with McGinn and Morgan Rogers operating just behind him.
It took less than three minutes for Villa’s new plan to pay off. Offering extra width on the right, Cash’s cross found Watkins at the far post. McGinn managed to outmuscle Nicolas Seiwald to latch on the knockdown and guide home from eight yards.
Leipzig knew they needed to win this to keep their hopes alive of reaching the knockout stages, though you would not have known it as Villa took control. Had Watkins managed to connect with Digne’s low ball, it would have been two. Then Rogers shot too close to Peter Gulacsi from 20 yards and Youri Tielemans fired wide from a similar distance following an excellent move involving McGinn, Digne and Watkins.
Leipzig were flat and uninspired – which made it all the more frustrating for Emery that his side went in level at half-time. It was a simple ball over the top from Seiwald that – somehow – neither Ezri Konsa nor Diego Carlos nor Emi Martinez managed to cut out. In raced Openda to touch the ball past Martinez and slide in the equaliser.
Villa did not lose their cool and created two more opportunities before the interval. Antonio Nusa found his feet in a tangle as he tried to intercept Rogers’ pass, allowing Cash a clear run on goal. His low shot was blocked by Gulacsi and the Leipzig goalkeeper did his job again with moments left of the half, denying Watkins from a tight angle after Tielemans had set him free.
There was an immediate setback for Villa at the start of the second half. Watkins had been impressive before the break but appeared to have picked up an injury and did not return. That gave Duran his chance and the Colombian might have scored instantly had he shown a little more composure from 20 yards.
Villa were finding space in that area regularly but failed to make it count. Boubacar Kamara was the next to try with a low effort that did not trouble Gulacsi. No wonder Emery put his head in his hands.
Luckily for the Villa boss, he has a player capable of the unexpected.
MATCH FACTS
RB Leipzig (3-4-3): Gulacsi 7; Seiwald 5.5, Orban 6, Geertruida 6; Henrichs 6, Vermeeren 6 (Klostermann 84), Haidara 5.5 (Kampl 46, 6.5), Nusa 6.5; Baumgartner 6.5, Sesko 6 (Silva 76, 6), Openda 7.
Scorers: Openda 27, Baumgartner 62
Booked: Henrichs
Manager: Marco Rose 6
Aston Villa (3-4-2-1): Martinez 5; Konsa 6.5, D Carlos 5, Torres 6; Cash 7 (Nedeljkovic 71, 6), Kamara 8, Tielemans 8 (Barkley 83), Digne 6.5 (Maatsen 83); Rogers 7.5, McGINN 8.5 (Buendia 76, 6); Watkins 7 (Duran 46, 6).
Scorers: McGinn 3, Duran 52
Booked: Digne
Manager: Unai Emery 7
Referee: Maurizio Mariani 6
Attendance: 40,406
Duran collected a pass from Tielemans, drove away from Arthur Vermeeren and inside Willi Orban before despatching it over Gulacsi from 25 yards. Perhaps Gulacsi’s positioning should have been better but it was still a fabulous piece of opportunism.
By now Villa were looking dangerous every time they broke. Rogers was the latest to miss from the edge of the box and Duran thought he had his second just before the hour mark when he converted Cash’s low cross only for VAR to rule the goal out for offside.
How Villa would curse that call. Another long ball, this time from Benjamin Henrichs, found the back line hesitating and allowed Openda to scurry into space. This time the Belgian crossed and Baumgartner produced a fabulous volley across Martinez to level the match again.
At the other end, Rogers and McGinn opened up the home defence again, forcing Gulacsi to make another good stop, this time from Digne. Then Openda should have punished Torres’ dreadful error but fired straight at Martinez. Moments later, Barkley took aim from 25 yards and the ricochet off Klostermann left Gulacsi helpless
RB LeipzigAston Villa