Luckless Leeds returned from the West Midlands with nothing to show for their endeavors, as the noose begins to tighten on Jesse Marsch's tenure. Things could have been very different had lady luck shone on the visitors, but when you're fighting for your lives at the wrong end of the table, decisions rarely go your way.

A goal line clearance, a World class save and a marginal offside decision was the difference between defeat and victory on Friday night, and even though the stats show Leeds had the better chances (16 shots to 11 and 11 corners to 0, both in favour of Leeds), the only data that actually matters was the actual scoreline.

Leeds don't help themselves. They know they're vulnerable to the counter attack, and it only took Villa three minutes to expose their frailties. Leeds corner was cleared by Ashley Young, allowing Kamara a clear run from one end of the pitch to the other. He released Lion Bailey on the right side of penalty area. He took a couple of touches before firing past Meslier, into the far corner of the goal.

Bailey inadvertently set up their second, shortly after the hour mark. His darting run at goal, was finished off with a thunderbolt, which Meslier could only parry into the path of Buendia, who gratefully headed home from close range.

Leeds were finally rewarded for their hard work with seven minutes remaining. Gnonto picked up the ball in midfield, turned his man, and made a darting run down the left wing. He skipped several challenges before looking up and picking out Bamford, 10 yards from goal. He may be a little ring rusty, but he doesn't miss from there. Unfortunately, it was too little, too late, and Villa held on to the win!

	Line Up		Nat	Match Events
		Meslier, Illan Goalkeeper
		Ayling, Luke Defender
		Koch, Robin Defender
		Cooper, Liam Defender
		Struijk, Pascal Defender
		Roca, Marc Midfielder
		Adams, Tyler Midfielder
		Harrison, Jack Midfielder
		Aaronson, Brenden Midfielder
		Gnonto, Wilfried Midfielder
		Moreno, Rodrigo Forward
	Subs		Nat	Match Events
		Wober, Max Defender
		Bamford, Patrick Forward
		Greenwood, Sam Midfielder
		Gelhardt, Joe Forward
		Firpo, Junior Defender
		Robles, Joel Goalkeeper		Unused Sub
		Llorente, Diego Defender		Unused Sub
		Perkins, Sonny Forward		Unused Sub
		Kristensen, Rasmus Defender		Unused Sub

	References
	LEEDSTATS: Leeds United Season 2022/2023
	Sheridan Dictates: Season Statistics 2022-23
	Leeds United Programme Guide: Season 2022/23