RB Leipzig 2-3 Aston Villa

Ross Barkley came off the bench to net a late winner and see Aston Villa to a deserved victory against RB Leipzig in the UEFA Champions League on Tuesday night.

The midfielder’s drive took a favourable deflection and spun past Peter Gulácsi in the 85^th-minute to earn his side a fourth win of the league phase.

It was the perfect end to a night that started on a positive note when John McGinn found the net after three minutes at Red Bull Arena.

A momentary lapse at the back allowed Loïs Openda to equalise later in the first half, but substitute Jhon Durán made a telling impact following his half-time introduction, sending a curling effort home from long-range to put his side in front.

Christoph Baumgartner scored with a delicate volley as the hosts hit Villa with a second sucker punch of the night, but the away side had the last word via Barkley’s first goal in the competition.

Triumph on matchday six takes the club on to 13 points and strengthens Vila’s hopes of a top eight finish with two games to play.

The home team began the night desperate to ignite their European campaign after five straight defeats, while Villa were looking to take another step towards qualification for the knockout stages.

Unai Emery brought Matty Cash, Ollie Watkins and Lucas Digne back into the starting XI and was immediately rewarded when the former two combined to tee up the opening goal after three minutes.

Cash advanced to the edge of the box before standing up a cross to the back post, where Watkins cushioned a header into the path of McGinn, leaving the midfielder with a simple finish.

Villa’s dominant start almost yielded a second goal when Digne’s tantalising cross narrowly evaded Watkins, while Morgan Rogers tested Gulácsi with a fierce drive.

Leipzig, who are fourth in the Bundesliga, were struggling to cope with a series of potent attacks, and Youri Tielemans was the next to go close when he dragged a shot wide from the edge of the box.

A breakdown in communication paved the way for the German side to hit back with their first foray forward of note after 27 minutes as Openda stole in between Emi Martínez and Diego Carlos to flick the ball past the goalkeeper and tap into an empty net.

Revelling in an advanced role on the right, Cash attempted to restore his side’s lead after being played in by Rogers, seeing his swerving effort parried behind by Gulácsi.

Watkins saw a goal disallowed for a narrow offside call towards the end of the half as Villa’s dominance failed to see them in front at the break.

Durán came on for Watkins at the interval and made his presence felt almost immediately by slashing a shot wide from the edge of the penalty area.

The Colombian’s penchant for the spectacular came to the fore soon after when he made it 2-1 with a stunning strike to cap a fine team move.

Martínez threw the ball out before it was worked quickly through the centre of the pitch, with Durán taking possession 35 yards out and curling a shot over a helpless Gulácsi.

Durán was celebrating again just before the hour mark when he turned Cash’s cross home from close-range, but this time his celebrations were in vain as VAR disallowed the goal for an offside in the build-up.

The let-off proved to be a big one for Leipzig, who equalised via a fine strike from Baumgartner when the midfielder sent a cushioned volley across goal and inside the far post.

Rogers was gliding around the pitch and making things happen in the final third, and he picked a key pass that opened the door for Digne to see an angled drive tipped wide by the ‘keeper.

The lively Openda intercepted a Pau Torres pass and called Martínez into a smart stop as the game moved into the final ten minutes.

Emery made a double switch on 83 minutes, bringing Ian Maatsen and Barkley into the fray, and his decision once again paid dividends as the latter took aim from distance and benefitted from a deflection that struck a white shirt and spun past a wrong-footed Gulácsi.

Both sides hit the side netting as the match swung from end-to-end in a frantic finale, but Villa held on for a pivotal three points.