Leeds fans go wild on Twitter for defender after display against Aston Villa (not Jansson)

By Alex Stevens

Leeds fans praised Luke Ayling to the hilt on Twitter in the wake of his performance in the team’s 2-0 Championship win against Aston Villa on Saturday evening.

The right-back delivered an authoritative display as Garry Monk’s high flyers secured a momentous victory against Steve Bruce’s in-form visitors.

Ayling has been something of an unsung hero since his summer arrival from Bristol City but fans were in no doubt about his importance to the side following another fine performance.

The 25-year-old is one quarter of a four-man defence that is laying the foundations for an unexpected promotion challenge from the Yorkshire giants.

Alongside academy product Charlie Taylor and on-loan centre-back duo Kyle Bartley and Pontus Jansson, Ayling has been part of a unit that Championship opponents are finding increasingly difficult to breach.

Leeds’ win over Villa was their fifth in six Championship matches and lifted Monk’s team to the rare heights of four place in the table. It also condemned Villa to their first defeat under Bruce since he replaced Roberto Di Matteo in mid October.

Elland Road supporters are used to going wild over Jansson on social media, but Ayling has been getting just as much attention over the last 12 hours.

Here is a selection of their messages on Twitter:

Ayling has made 19 appearances for Leeds, 18 of which have been in the league, since he joined in the summer from Bristol City for a fee of around £750,000.

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