ASTON VILLA ARE CLOSER TO a Champions League place than Leeds United are to a safety spot in the Barclaycard Premiership. If that says more about the rise of David O’Leary’s side since these teams were bedfellows in the relegation zone two months ago, it also exemplifies the alarming absence of hope at his former club. Perhaps there are only so many punches to the head you can take before staying down on the canvas but, after wage deferrals, takeover delays and a sixth successive league defeat, Leeds did not seem overly surprised when fortune went against them at Villa Park.

Fair play to Villa, they were the better side: slicker in their passing, more decisive in their defending, more creative in their attacking but, with both teams striking the bar twice, the pivotal moment came two minutes into first-half stoppage time. Just as Villa had been undone in their previous home game when a refereeing decision went against them — Mark Halsey letting Thierry Henry take a quick free kick — so Uriah Rennie’s debatable penalty award went against Leeds and they never looked like recovering.

Darius Vassell, having outstripped Dominic Matteo for pace, lost control of the ball by the time Didier Domi slid into him. A yellow card and a penalty would have been the just outcome if Domi, on only his second start for the club, had not touched the ball first. Referees cannot see everything; Juan Pablo Ángel converted his seventeenth goal of the season.

After Ronny Johnsen flicked in Villa’s second goal, from Nolberto Solano’s free kick, a distant aria could be heard wafting down from the direction of Yorkshire. “I believe it’s not all over till the fat lady sings,” Mark Viduka, on his return to the Leeds team after three weeks’ compassionate leave, said. “So when she starts singing, that’s when I’ll be worried. She hasn ’t even stood up yet.”

It may be a little too late by then. In the relegation battle ahead, Leicester City have goals in them, Wolverhampton Wanderers have indefatigable resolve, Portsmouth the class and Leeds, er, the shadow of a team that reached the last four of the European Cup three years ago. Their midfield melted away at Villa Park while Alan Smith’s talents were restricted to outside the penalty area and Viduka’s commitment epitomised by the half-hearted challenge he lost in a one-on-one with Thomas Sorensen.

After playing host to Wolves tomorrow, Leeds face Manchester United and Liverpool. Viduka confirmed he had turned down a move to Middlesbrough last week. “I had a couple of options to go,” he said, “but I preferred to stay and help out the team. In this disappointing time for Leeds, the team needs a lot of help.”

O’Leary, whose side have won six and drawn one from their past ten league games to move into eighth, still believes Leeds can survive. “When you win a string of games — and they have this capacity — and you have match- winners like Smith and Viduka, then they can get out of it,” he said.

Aston Villa (4-4-2): T Sorensen 6 — U De La Cruz 6, O Mellberg 7, D Dublin 6 (sub: R Johnsen, 49min 6), J Samuel 6 — N Solano 6, L Hendrie 7, T Hitzlsperger 6, G Barry 5 — D Vassell 5, J P Ángel 7. Substitutes not used: S Postma, M Allbäck, P Crouch, L Ridgewell. Booked: Mellberg, De La Cruz. NEXT: Fulham (a). FORM: WWLLWW

Leeds United (4-4-2): P Robinson 5 — G Kelly 5, S Caldwell 5, D Matteo 4, D Domi 4 — J Pennant 4 (sub: A Lennon, 63 5), E Bakke 5, Seth Johnson 4, J Milner 5 — M Viduka 5, A Smith 5. Substitutes not used: I Harte, S McPhail, F Richardson, S Carson. Booked: Domi, Viduka. NEXT: Wolverhampton Wanderers (h). FORM: LLLLLL

Shots on target: (h) 8 (a) 4. Fouls: (h) 15 (a) 16. Offsides: (h) 3 (a) 7

Referee: U Rennie 4. Attendance: 39,171