**Jacob Ramsey, Philippe Coutinho and Daniel James staged a three-way tussle for man of the match in a rollercoaster encounter that saw Aston Villa and Leeds share six goals in one of the Premier League games of the season.** In a gripping contest played at breakneck speed, the two attack-minded sides traded blow after blow, with Leeds landing the first courtesy of James’ low finish into the far corner. James had two further chances for the buoyant away side, hitting the bar with one from range, before Villa hit back in style, Coutinho twice setting up young midfielder Ramsey for a pair of superb finishes past Illan Meslier. But the away side and James had the final word before the break, with the forward defying his small stature to leap and head home a looping ball from close range. They also had the first and ultimately final say of the second half, drawing level when Diego Llorente fired in following a fluffed Tyrone Mings clearance from a corner. There was still enough time for a red card too, with Villa’s Ezri Konsa catching Meslier with a forearm after a corner to earn his second booking and an early exit. That incident led to a fractious finale in which tackles flew, frustrations flared and more than one player flirted with joining Konsa in the dressing room. The point maintains Leeds’ six-point advantage over the bottom three and keeps Aston Villa 11th on 27 points, four more than the Whites. A Premier League classic For some reason, this fixture between two of England’s historically big names consistently produces memorable events, talking points, excitement and drama. In recent seasons, it has produced an unchallenged goal given to Villa by Leeds after the Whites scored with a man down injured and a thrilling 3-2 last-gasp comeback win for Marcelo Bielsa’s team, both in the Championship. This game was more in keeping with the latter - an absolute barnstormer that refused to slow or settle for an expected outcome despite Leeds’ early confidence, Villa’s subsequent ascendancy and then demotion to 10 men. James lit the touch paper with his low finish and was superb in a central attacking role his physique suggests he is unsuited to. But on this form, he will make it tough for first-choice number nine Patrick Bamford to return to the side when he is fit. His second goal was a sign that his small stature need not restrict him, with him leaping high above bigger Villa players in the box to head in after Rodrigo’s cross had looped his way. He was a solid Emiliano Martinez save and a few inches and a crossbar away from claiming the match ball. Between his two goals, though, Villa’s own mercurial pair had swung the game firmly the home side’s way. Coutinho was a livewire, ghosting into space - most notably for his low finish from Matty Cash’s cross to make it 1-1 - nutmegging opponents seemingly at will and threading defence-splitting passes. Two of these found Ramsey, who underlined his growing reputation as a box-to-box midfielder of true elite potential. There is no greater praise than to suggest his driving runs and drilled finishes were reminiscent of the man under whom he is now learning - Villa boss Steven Gerrard. You could have been forgiven for thinking Leeds’ race was run, but they refused to lie down and forced themselves level. Mings was fortunate to bundle a Pascal Struijk header from a corner wide with a combination of shoulder and cheek, but erred from another corner soon after, gifting Llorente the leveller with his dire attempted hack clear. Villa lost Emiliano Buendia to injury, Coutinho to tiring legs and then Konsa to a rush of blood and red card. Leeds had plenty of the ball and opportunities to fashion a winner, but six goals and a point each was probably a welcome return for both at the end of a classic encounter. “Chaos is the right word,” said Villa boss Steven Gerrard. “Even I needed a breather at half time. It was a great advert for the Premier League but we need to improve defensively and stop giving sloppy goals away. “A lot to be pleased about. Our goals were superb. We conceded at a poor time just before the break but Leeds probably deserved that. It was certainly not a game for coaches but for fans.” Leeds boss Marcelo Bielsa told BBC Match of the Day: “It was a disputed game. The dominance was alternate with moments for one team with possibilities and then the other way around as well. “At the start I don’t know exactly when we were dominating until and were superior but some things we didn’t continue doing and the game became unbalanced. “It was difficult but we got a stimulus at the end of the first half which got us closer. In the second half we slowly started to deserve a draw. “A draw was the fair result.” It says all you need to know about Jacob Ramsey that in a rollercoaster game in which the third most expensive player in football history registered a goal and two assists, many of those in attendance at Villa Park will spend as much time reflecting on the display of a 20-year-old from Great Barr. The superb six-goal thriller with Leeds showcased numerous stellar displays, including Daniel James for the visitors and Philippe Coutinho for the home side, but nothing quite excites like “one of your own”. And Ramsey is very much that - Birmingham-born, a Villa academy graduate and now a fully fledged first-teamer with rave reviews following almost every display. Wednesday’s game set a new benchmark for the young midfielder, drawing the most effusive praise yet from a manager who still has work to do but is now starting to see his attacking gameplan bear fruit. ‘He is a sponge, he wants to learn’ “Jacob Ramsey is Jacob Ramsey,” Gerrard told BT Sport. “He’s not following in anyone’s footsteps. “He will be a terrific player. It won’t be long before the whole country is watching him I’m sure. He is right up there, let me tell you.” Clearly Ramsey remains a work in progress, with 42 Premier League games under his belt, but 20 of them coming this season as a regular component of the Villa midfield. He has scored goals before, including a wonderful solo effort in a 2-0 win at Norwich in December. But his two against Leeds came with some authority, courtesy of the kind of powerful, driving runs and calm but clinical finishes of a player in full control of his game and steered where he can most do damage. It is not an exaggeration to say that they were reminiscent of the kind of goals Gerrard himself scored during his 18-year playing career, spent predominantly driving through midfield and lashing in for Liverpool for England. “He has given me a lot of confidence,” said Ramsey of Gerrard after the game. “I grew up watching him so now he’s a gaffer I can only take his advice. “I’m obviously over the moon to get two goals at Villa Park in a big game but we let in two silly goals so I’m still disappointed.” In the BT Sport studio for the game was ex-West Ham and Chelsea player Joe Cole, another former England midfielder who knows a thing or two about devastating runs and finishes from midfield. “Jacob Ramsey catches the eye,” he said. “He is so athletic. “I have seen little glimpses of him before, but this is the first time I have seen him live. I am so impressed with the timing of his runs and his intelligence as well. “I spoke to some of the Villa guys before about him and they said he is a sponge, he wants to learn and to take it all in.” This will be music to the ears of Villa fans who had to cope with the loss of their previous homegrown hero, Jack Grealish, in the summer. ‘Vintage Coutinho’ Coutinho’s quality is more broadly known. This is a Brazilian player who excelled for Liverpool while Gerrard was still playing there in the 2010s and prompted Barcelona to part with £142m for his services in 2018. It hasn’t gone entirely to plan since, but the talent is still there and emerged in scintillating moments on Wednesday. He levelled the game at 1-1 with clever movement in the box and a sharp finish and then cut Leeds’ defence to ribbons to set up both of Ramsey’s goals before tiring and departing late on. “It was vintage Coutinho tonight,” said Gerrard. “Certainly getting back close to where he was when the world was speaking about him.” Cole echoed those sentiments, saying: “Coutinho played with moments. He is still not up to the level we have seen before, when he left this country and he was one of the best in the world. I believe and hope he will get back there.” On Match of the Day, Dion Dublin threw the impressively selfless display of Ollie Watkins into the mix too. “The three of them [Philippe Coutinho, Jacob Ramsey and Ollie Watkins] were very much in sync,” he said. “They always seemed to find the spaces when the other wasn’t there. “They leave the space for the other to come into, which is what they do very well. “Jacob Ramsey’s goal was a very accomplished finish. He runs into the space quickly then calms down in front of goal just steers it into the corner. How old is he again? “Ramsey and Watkins are allowing Coutinho to go where he wants to go and they will make their runs off of where he is - just because of his experience and his class. “They are enjoying making the runs and receiving the ball from a player like him.”