Find out how Leeds United's players rated against Aston Villa in this afternoon's Premier League clash
Isaac Johnson Leeds United reporter
17:03, 21 Feb 2026
Anton Stach of Leeds United celebrates after scoring
View Image
Anton Stach of Leeds United celebrates after scoring (Image: PA)
Leeds United were made to wait longer for their first Premier League away win since September, with Tammy Abraham sinking Whites hearts late on.
The game will be remembered for Anton Stach's superb 40-yard free-kick but a number of others also had terrific games. The visitors battled hard with Villa pressing for the equaliser for large periods in the second half and succmumbed when Tammy Abraham kneed the ball home on 89 minutes.
Daniel Farke still have three arm raises to the end after full time which perhaps explains how feels about the result. Here are how the players rated.
Karl Darlow - Punched a corner away and caught a few slippery balls in the rain nicely. Did brilliantly at the end of the first half to stop Amadou Onana and then claw the ball away from danger. Solid, reliable and point-saving. 8
Jayden Bogle - Had a quiet start to the game and got into a mix-up with Darlow at one point but was decent overall, staying high and putting through some great balls over the back line. 8
James Justin - Sturdy and pretty productive in the main with balls forward and clever running. Moved over the left-back in the second half and carried on there. Must be a dream for Farke to have someone so versatile and consistent. 8
Joe Rodon - Held the back line very well, always mindful of the ball over the top. Put his body on the line umpteen times. Was beaten in the air for the equaliser. 8
Pascal Strujik - A few loose balls but steadied as the game progressed and cleared well with a number of important headers and interceptions. 8
Gabriel Gudmundsson - Made one uncharacteristic blunder, passing a ball behind for a corner 20 minutes in. Played some nice balls over the top and put a good few tackles in. Was taken off at half-time. 7
Anton Stach - What a free-kick, from 40 yards out. Advanced the transition well, as has now been customary from the German. Used his body well and retained possession neatly. Made a terrific block to deny Tyrone Mings. 9
Ethan Ampadu - Stunted attacks and was quarter-back like. Very clever with his situational awareness, always knowing what the best option was. Commanding in the tackle and influential on the ball for much of the game - very impressive. 9
Ilia Gruev - Got his foot in a fair few times. Wasn't always in the game but he helped keep the structure which was so vital throughout the game. Gave the ball away in his own box on 70 minutes which wasn't great. Took a yellow for the team late on. 6
Brenden Aaronson - Used his boundless energy in between the lines. Sometimes was too slow to release. Wasn't bad but just wasn't overly notable. 6
Dominic Calvert-Lewin - Was denied early on, his toe-poke when latching onto a through-ball saved by Emilioano Martinez. Won his duels but the flicks were not usually made the most of. Squandered a shot inside the box on 76 minutes but then did well to force a save from the angle moments later. 6
SUBS
Jaka Bijol (46' for Gudmundsson) - Lumped a ball out of play initally. Provided more muscle which helped but it meant Leeds were slower to come out of transition. 6
Sean Longstaff (84' for Stach) - Came on too late for a rating. N/A
Lukas Nmecha (73' for Aaronson) - Almost a goal with his first touch from his saved header at close range. Battled hard albeit gave away a silly challenge near the end. 7
MANAGER: Daniel Farke - Got his defensive tactics right with a nice overall balance to the team. Played with fire a touch when he left it until 73 minutes to make a second substitute but that wasn't the reason why Leeds didn't win. 8
Article continues below
Here at LeedsLive, we are dedicated to bringing you the bestLeeds Unitedcoverage and analysis.
Make sure you don't miss out on the latest Leeds news by joining our free WhatsApp group. You can get all the breaking news and best analysis sent straight to your phone by clickinghereto subscribe.
You can also subscribe to our free newsletter service. Clickhereto be sent all the day's biggest stories.