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Leeds United boss Marcelo Bielsa waxed lyrical about the performance of defender Luke Ayling in Friday night’s 3-0 victory away to Aston Villa.

The Yorkshire giants, who were without inured duo Liam Cooper and Kalvin Phillips, produced a high intensity display to steamroll through Villa in the second-half of their Premier League fixture.

Patrick Bamford, 27, was the hero for his side by netting a second-half hat-trick and they were all finishes with his favoured left-foot.

Despite the fact Bamford stole the headlines with his match-winning contribution, Whites manager Bielsa was fully of praise for Ayling.

“He was quick, he was agile. He defended well, he headed well,” Bielsa said in his post-match press conference, as quoted by the Leeds Live.

“He used the ball well and he transmitted serenity to the rest of the team.”

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Ayling, who wore the armband in the absence of Cooper, produced a commanding display at the back and it was made even more impressive by the fact he wasn’t in his usual position.

The 29-year-old right-back moved across to the centre-back role alongside teammate Robin Koch and the duo helped grind out a clean sheet against a Villa team that have started the season on fire.

He made one memorable goal-line clearance to prevent a Jack Grealish goal, plus he was aggressive in his tackling and was the vocal leader in defence.