After seeing a raft of teams at the foot of the table pick up points on Saturday, there was an element of pressure on Leeds here.
They looked every bit like they were up for the battle inside the opening 10 minutes when they took the lead in somewhat fortuitous circumstances, as Anton Stach kept a half-cleared free-kick alive and Ezri Konsa’s attempted clearance hit Lukas Nmecha and trickled over the line.
Villa’s response was muted to say the least, with a free-kick from Emiliano Buendia that drifted high over the bar as close as they came to finding an instant response.
The stop-start nature of the half, combined with the treacherous conditions, certainly wasn’t helping the game as a spectacle, but Leeds were undoubtedly coping better.
Daniel Farke’s men looked the likelier to grab the game’s second goal, yet they were struggling to produce an end product.
Even when they did finally manage to manufacture a sight of goal, Brenden Aaronson’s volley from the edge of the area was repelled by Emiliano Martinez.
It took Villa until the stroke of half-time to have a meaningful effort on goal, and when they did, it was a stark warning to Leeds that the game was far from over as Ollie Watkins bent an effort inches wide of the target.
Unai Emery was unhappy with what he’d seen in the first half and looked to his bench to make a double change at half-time.
One of those changes was involved in Villa’s equaliser within three minutes of the restart, as Donyell Malen’s wicked delivery was turned home at the near post by Morgan Rogers, whose deft flick completely changed the complexion of the game.
Malen was influential after his introduction, and he almost fired Villa ahead for the first time on the day when his left-footed effort deflected narrowly wide of the target.
However, it was one of Emery’s starters who found the breakthrough, with the goal coming from a familiar source.
Rogers has carried Villa through some difficult games this term, and it was he who produced a magic moment once again today, floating a perfect free-kick over the wall and beyond a statuesque Lucas Perri.
That seemingly served as nothing more than a reprieve for Villa when Dominic Calvert-Lewin bundled home Dan James’ cross moments later, but a handball spared the blushes of Emery’s men.
Leeds did push and probe in the closing stages, but they couldn’t find the clear-cut chance they needed to get back on level terms.
A point would’ve been enough to lift Leeds out of the drop zone, and their last chance to claim a share of the spoils came and went when Martinez routinely saved Pascal Struijk’s header.
Villa just about held on to claim three huge points, which provisionally lifts them back into the top four.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Morgan Rogers (Aston Villa)