In an era of over-complicated set-piece routines and specialist coaches waving their arms around frantically in technical areas, this was an advert for putting it into dangerous areas and hoping Lady Luck is looking down on you.
Set-pieces are so often the separator in matches now, especially in the Premier League where they are seriously in vogue.
What started with Villa fussing with silly routines that amounted to nothing, ended with a deep corner to Ezri Konsa at the back post, who nodded down onto the knee of substitute Tammy Abraham to salvage what could well prove a precious point in the race for Champions League football.
The action between those moments was largely dominated by a Leeds United side who defended like a side that was not coming here on the back of one win from 18 away from home.
It was Anton Stach’s 30-yard free-kick, no routine, no fussing, but plenty of power, technique and a bit of kidology to shape for the cross before sensationally picking out the top corner, that was the difference until Abraham’s last-gasp intervention in minute 89.
Stach’s effort had an xG of just 0.053 and yet with the way Villa made such hard work of Leeds’ low block, it felt their equaliser would be equally as unlikely until an instinctive swing of Abraham’s knee got them out of jail.
Tammy Abraham (left) came off the bench to rescue a precious point at home for Aston Villa
Anton Stach’s (right) third direct free-kick goal of the season looked set to give Leeds the win
‘I had to sniff around the box, be alert, be ready. Luckily for us, I got the goal,’ Abraham said.
‘These things are important in football. Set pieces have been one of the key factors in football. We were hungry.
‘Well done to Ezri [Konsa] for the first contact and I was there for the second contact. It was in front of some of the best supporters in the world.’
Stach’s effort had an xG of just 0.053 and yet with the way Villa made such hard work of Leeds’ low block, it felt their equaliser was equally as unlikely.
Villa are stuttering, particularly here at home, and Abraham’s knee was the first time a Villa player had scored here in the league since John McGinn added a third in a 3-1 win over Nottingham Forest on January 3rd, 50 days ago.
Only time will tell how vital this point will be but with the top five race as tight as it is, Abraham’s knee may prove worth its weight in gold come May.
RACE TO BECOME KANE’S NO 2
Time is running out for both Ollie Watkins and Dominic Calvert-Lewin to make home run cases to be on the plane for the World Cup this summer.
Neither made Thomas Tuchel’s last squad, named in November, and sources at the FA remain tightlipped as to whether either get the nod for the upcoming camp next month in what will be a tell-tale sign of Tuchel’s thinking for the summer.
So the onus is on the pair of them to make it impossible to be ignored, especially given Marcus Rashford, Jarrod Bowen and Anthony Gordon – all safer bets to be on the plane as of today – can play through the middle.
On this outing, Dominic Calvert-Lewin is a better World Cup selection than Ollie Watkins
When Tuchel gets the tactical view of this match sent through to him by analysts, it will have been the performance of Calvert-Lewin that will have left the lasting impression.
The 28-year-old was superb over the course of the game, offering a genuine threat in behind and was incredibly smart in his link-up play, too.
Watkins had his moments, not least finding the back of the net in the second half only to be, rightly, flagged offside. Largely, though, this felt another opportunity missed for the Villa man, who has scored in just six of his 26 league appearances this season.
Playing back-up to Harry Kane is something of a break-glass-in-case-of-emergency type move. It’s a specialised position.
With Tuchel only set to take one spare orthodox No 9, on this evidence it is Calvert-Lewin who has his nose in front, even if he hasn’t been capped by England since July 2021.
FIRST-HALF FRUSTRATION
Villa fans were too relieved to be back playing a Saturday 3pm home league game for the first time in 367 days to allow for the nervousness hovering in the background to take hold.
But, truth be told, those nerves about facing a physical, low block, coupled with the fact that Villa haven’t played well at home in the league for some time, meant sceptics had every right to worry.
Villa laboured in spite of Unai Emery’s boisterousness on the touchline. He’s always like that; it never changes.
Yet the same can be said for Villa in the first half of matches this season.
Despite managing three shots on target – more than Leeds’ two – they never really looked like scoring and the groans reflected that going into the break after the 15th time this campaign they’ve failed to score in the opening 45 minutes.
In fact, further analysis shows that Villa rank fourth in the league for goal differential with 10 more scored in the second half. Only Liverpool (15), Manchester City (14) and Brighton (12) have greater half differentials than Emery’s side (10).
Villa are a good side but they can’t keep throwing away halves of matches if they are going to get what they want out of what remains of this season.
