Tammy Abraham — tammy abraham relishing Aston Villa return after late equaliser
Substitute tammy abraham struck an 88th-minute equaliser as Aston Villa salvaged a 1-1 draw with Leeds, cancelling out a 35-yard Anton Stach free-kick. The late leveller matters because it kept Villa third in the table but left them seven points behind leaders Arsenal with 11 games to go.
Late twist: Stach thunderbolt and Abraham's knee finish
Leeds took the lead through Anton Stach's sumptuous free-kick from 35 yards that caught out Emi Martinez and was described as a goal-of-the-season contender, giving the visitors a 1-0 lead on Saturday. With Villa trailing and heading for defeat, Tammy Abraham — who had been on the field for 13 minutes as a substitute — guided the ball with his knee in the 88th minute to level the score at 1-1.
Tammy Abraham's return: second goal since January move and career route back to Villa
The 28-year-old scored his second goal since returning to the club after a £18. 2m move from Besiktas in January; his previous strike came in a 3-1 FA Cup loss to Newcastle seven days earlier. Seven years after firing Aston Villa into the Premier League, Abraham — an 11-time England international — has returned to scoring for the club.
His career path since that original Villa spell included two seasons at Chelsea, three seasons at Roma, a loan at AC Milan, then a loan at Besiktas; Besiktas bought him and then immediately sold him to Villa for a profit. Earlier in his career, Abraham netted 25 times in 37 Championship games during the 2018-19 season while on loan from Chelsea, helping Villa win promotion.
Match details: key chances and decisive saves
Villa had offered little threat for long spells, aside from a period before the break when Ollie Watkins put a chance straight at Karl Darlow and Amadou Onana saw a point-blank effort saved by the Leeds keeper. Lukas Nmecha, on for Leeds, nearly doubled the visitors' advantage with his first contribution off the bench when he dived to meet a cross from Jayden Bogle, but Emi Martinez got across to deny the header — a save that proved crucial for Villa's comeback.
Table implications and Emery's cautious view
Despite Abraham's late intervention, third-placed Villa have dropped seven points from their past four matches and sit seven points adrift of leaders Arsenal with 11 games to go. Even with Arsenal drawing back-to-back games, it was noted that it is hard to see Arsenal or second-placed Manchester City dropping enough points for Villa to claim the English title for the first time since 1981. Manager Unai Emery has consistently downplayed his side's title chances and, last month, warned that even a top-five finish could be beyond them.
Some supporters booed the team off at half-time when Villa were trailing 1-0 on Saturday. Emery said: "We are at a beautiful and fantastic moment to compete in two competitions for the remainder of the season. It is the moment to show our wishes and follow our dreams. " Post-match comments in the match report added: "We can see it in two ways. One way is losing two points at home... In minute 90, we were thinking to get two more points. After 10 minutes, the only objective was to win. Accept this point was a good point. Keep going forward, improving. "
Statistics, ratings and Leeds resurgence under Farke
Villa have now won 19 points from losing positions in the Premier League this season, more than any other team. Leeds remain in 15th place after picking up a point. Since the start of December, Leeds have lost just two of their 14 Premier League games as their resurgence under Daniel Farke continues to impress.
Player ratings published in the match coverage included the following scores: Aston Villa — Martinez, Cash, Konsa, Mings, Maatsen, Onana, Luiz, Bailey, Buendia, Rogers, Watkins. Villa substitutes: Barkley, Abraham, Garcia, Bogarde. Leeds — Darlow, Justin, Rodon, Struijk, Bogle, Gudmundsson, Ampadu, Stach, Gruev, Aaronson, Calvert-Lewin. Leeds substitutes: Nmecha, Bijol. Anton Stach was named Player of the Match.
Club note and local promotion message
Alongside the match coverage was a club membership message inviting people to "Join now now to receive the latest news, purchase tickets and get exclusive access to Aston Villa content as well as a host of other benefits. "
