RB Leipzig 2-3 Aston Villa: Ross Barkley proves the difference in visitors’ helter-skelter Champions League win

Sometimes all you need is a little luck. As time ticked down, Unai Emery was furious as Aston Villa appeared to throw away two points thanks to terribly weak defending.

Shortly after replacing Youri Tielemans, Ross Barkley’s shot from distance was deflected off RB Leipzig substitute Lukas Klostermann and Villa had the win that moved them closer to an automatic place in the last 16 of the Champions League.

But before that, Villa had been the author of their own downfall – and not for the first time either.

First it was Tyrone Mings who picked up the ball in his own penalty area against Club Brugge and allowed the Belgians to score the only goal of the match.

And now in Leipzig, two moments of hard work at the back almost saw Villa take three points from a game they controlled virtually from start to finish.

Despite goals in both halves from John McGinn and substitute Jhon Duran – a brilliant strike from distance – Villa almost had to settle for a draw as Lois Openda and Christoph Baumgartner’s sloppiness allowed them to equalize twice and give Leipzig their first point of the campaign worried.

The second-half substitute scored with five minutes of normal playing time remaining in Germany

Unai Emery’s men saw the chaotic victory, but it could have been much worse for the visitors

Things could have been even worse for Villa. In the closing minutes, Pau Torres passed the ball straight to Openda, after which the Leipzig striker shot too close to Emi Martinez. But then came Barkley’s strike, which gave Villa their outright win.

After a run of eight games without a win, Villa bounced back with home wins over Brentford and Southampton to put them back in contention for a place in the top four.

However, this was probably always a stricter test. Emery opted for a three-man defense to tackle Leipzig’s dangerous forwards Openda and Benjamin Sesko, with Matty Cash and Lucas Digne as wing-backs.

There was no place in the line-up for Duran, even though he scored the only goal against Southampton. Ollie Watkins was reinstated in ninth position, with McGinn and Morgan Rogers operating close behind him.

It took less than three minutes for Villa’s new plan to pay off. Cash’s cross provided extra width on the right and found Watkins at the far post. McGinn managed to outwit Nicolas Seiwald, grab the knockdown and power home from eight yards.

Leipzig knew they had to win this to keep their hopes of reaching the knockout stages alive, although you wouldn’t have known that when Villa took control. Had Watkins managed to make contact with Digne’s low ball it would have been two. Rogers then shot too close to Peter Gulacsi from twenty yards and Youri Tielemans shot wide from a similar distance, after an excellent move involving McGinn, Digne and Watkins.

Leipzig were flat and uninspiring – which made it all the more frustrating for Emery as his side drew level at half-time. It was a simple ball over the top from Seiwald that – somehow – managed to eliminate neither Ezri Konsa, Diego Carlos nor Emi Martinez. Openda raced to tap the ball past Martinez and slot in the equalizer.

John McGinn opened the scoring in double-quick time to give Villa the upper hand on Tuesday

But a big howler from Emi Martinez saw the score level just before the 30 minute mark

The Argentinian goalkeeper will be happy that his teammates spared him his blushes in Leipzig

Villa did not lose their composure and created two more chances before half-time. Antonio Nusa got his feet muddled as he tried to intercept Rogers’ pass, allowing Cash to run free on goal. His low shot was blocked by Gulacsi and the Leipzig goalkeeper did his job again just before half-time, denying Watkins from a tight angle after Tielemans had released him.

At the start of the second half there was an immediate setback for Villa. Watkins was impressive before half-time but appeared to pick up an injury and did not return. That gave Duran his chance and the Colombian might have scored immediately if he had shown a little more composure from twenty meters.

Villa regularly found space in that area but failed to make it count. Boubacar Kamara was the next to try with a low effort that did not bother Gulacsi. No wonder Emery put his head in his hands.

Fortunately for the Villa boss, he has a player who is capable of the unexpected.

Loios Openda pounced on a long ball from deep in his half and outwitted Martinez for the opener

Christoph Baumgartner (photo right) then helped Villa take the lead in the second half

Jhon Duran (photo left) turned out to be a smart exchange for the injured Ollie Watkins after the break

On a pessimistic note, the England goalscorer went down in the second half and never returned

Duran collected a pass from Tielemans, drove away from Arthur Vermeeren and inside Willi Orban before sending it over Gulacsi from 25 yards. Perhaps Gulacsi’s positioning should have been better, but it was still a fantastic piece of opportunism.

Villa, meanwhile, looked dangerous every time they broke down. Rogers was the last to miss from the edge of the penalty area and Duran thought he had his second just before the hour mark when he converted Cash’s low cross only for VAR to rule out the goal for offside.

How Villa would curse that call. Another long ball, this time from Benjamin Henrichs, found the back line hesitantly and allowed Openda to run into space. This time the Belgian crossed and Baumgartner produced a fantastic volley over Martinez to level the match again.

At the other end, Rogers and McGinn opened up the home defense again, forcing Gulacsi to make another good stop, this time from Digne. Openda should have then punished Torres’ terrible mistake, but fired straight at Martinez. Moments later, Barkley aimed from 25 yards and the ricochet off Klostermann left Gulacsi helpless.