LEEDS, England (Reuters) -Striker Morgan Rogers netted a double as Aston Villa fought back from a halftime deficit to beat Leeds United 2-1 away at Elland Road on Sunday and move into the Premier League top four.
Rogers steered home the equaliser three minutes into the second half and then curled in an expertly executed free kick in the 75th minute to ensure the come-from-behind victory that catapulted Villa up five places and onto 21 points.
Defeat means Leeds remain in the bottom three, having lost five of their last six league games.
Lukas Nmecha had the home side into an eighth-minute lead as Leeds dominated the first half exchanges, but they were blown away by a much better Villa side after the break.
Leeds’ goal took three and a half minutes for the VAR video assistance to confirm, as Villa goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez failed to gather a high ball under pressure and Nmecha bundled the loose ball over the line.
It came at the end of a free kick whipped in by Sean Longstaff to the back post, where a sliding Gabriel Gudmundsson hooked the ball high into the air, and Martinez could not catch it under pressure from Anton Stach, spilling it instead and allowing Nmecha to get the decisive touch.
VAR checked for two possible offsides and a foul on Martinez before confirming the goal.
A double change at the break from Villa manager Unai Emery made a difference as substitute Donyell Malen provided the powerful square cross that Rogers got a toe to and steered into the net for the away side’s equaliser.
FREE KICK WORTHY OF WINNING ANY GAME
The winner was a free kick from the edge of the area after Pascal Struijk had brought down Villa substitute Ross Barkley, mistiming his tackle.
Rogers’ free kick was worthy of winning any game, hit up and over the defensive wall and curling away from Leeds’ goalkeeper Lucas Perri.
Leeds had the ball in the Villa net almost straight from the resumption, but Dan James’ square ball hit the hand of Dominic Calvert-Lewin before going into the goal and was chalked off after a VAR check.
Malen could have sealed the result for Villa some six minutes from time as he cut inside but blasted over the top, handing Leeds hope as their fans urged them on in search of parity.
Martinez needed to make a sharp save to deny Struijk’s header on the cusp of fulltime but Villa held on for a sixth win in their last seven league games after making a slow start to the season.
(Writing by Mark Gleeson in Cape Town; Editing by Andrew Cawthorne)
