Aston Villa and Leeds United could potentially meet in the playoff final at the end of the regular season.
Aston Villa manager Dean Smith has claimed that Leeds United used Jack Grealish’s legs as ‘target practice’ during their heated 1-1 draw at Elland Road on Sunday afternoon.
Playmaker Grealish started the encounter for Villa and he was substituted minutes before the end as Marcelo Bielsa’s side ended their playoff rivals 10-game winning run.
After the game, Villa boss Smith claimed that Grealish needs to be protected more by the officials after he felt that he was the target of the opposition.
“I thought there was a little bit of target practice on Jack Grealish’s legs today,” Smith told AVTV. “He has to be protected more than he is. As I have said before, he is a talented player. We just need to make sure that these types of talents are protected.”
In one of the most dramatic games the Championship has witnessed this season, Mateusz Klich turned the heat up in an already fiery atmosphere when he put the ball in the back of the net late in the second half.
Moments before, Jonathan Kodjia had gone down injured in the middle of the pitch with the Villa players stopping because Tyler Roberts was seemingly going to put the ball out of play.
But he decided to play a through ball to Klich instead, who ended up putting the ball in the back of the net to the anger of the away team and the coaching staff on the touchline.
A number of melees broke out between the players before Leeds boss Bielsa decided to allow the away team to walk the ball into the back of the net to level the scores.
These two teams, who are now heading for their respective playoff semi-final matches, could potentially meet in the playoff final in May.
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