You can’t beat a draw that leaves everyone feeling vaguely empty and slightly unsure about how to feel.
Aston Villa equalising late on to secure a point at home to Leeds fits neatly into that category. Step back and it is, very obviously, a much better point for Leeds than Villa, but when that equaliser comes so late after leading for so long, it’s a tough sucker-punch from which to recover.
Sure, that’s another big point for Leeds on the road. It’s becoming a theme for a team whose bid for survival was always likely to be primarily sustained by victories in front of a raucous Elland Road but who are now augmenting it with frequent battling points.
This is a sixth draw in seven Premier League away games, with Villa the third Champions League contender on that list after previous stalemates at Chelsea and Liverpool. Their only defeat in that run was a 4-3 defeat to Newcastle that absolutely could have gone very differently.
The simplistic summary of this game is that a Champions League-chasing Villa who have dropped off slightly from their very best were not identifiably superior to an improving Leeds who still have some lingering concern about what occurs beneath them.
Another reason this was so ultimately frustrating, of course, because the three points were tantalisingly close. At that point it really would start to look like Leeds were leaving the remaining unpleasantness for Palace, Spurs, Forest and West Ham to sort out among themselves.
That’s no longer quite true. What was for so long a nine-point cushion is now just seven, and could be back to a too-close-for-comfort four by close of play tonight.
But watching Leeds now it’s incredibly hard to see how they somehow finish up behind all those teams. Sure, they must be wary of new-manager bounces at Spurs and Forest (again) but right now there is just more about Leeds than any of their rivals.
In the first half at Villa Park especially they were excellent again, swarming all over their hosts and making life desperately uncomfortable.
Leeds’ midfield three in a congested 5-3-2 were key to the endeavour. Ethan Ampadu was a man possessed, but it was the returning Anton Stach who was the standout.
His outstanding performance was capped by a lovely goal, one that for so long looked like being the winner. We’re suckers for goals that combine technique with mischief and wit, and Stach’s free-kick was full of it to leave Emi Martinez embarrassed.
He simply didn’t even consider that Stach might choose, from a long way out and towards the left, to whip the ball to the keeper’s near post. There’s also something about a large gentleman who looks like he should be more effective at getting on the end of clever set-pieces actually delivering them.
The nature of the goal may have been unusual, but it was certainly deserved. Leeds had been the better side at that point, and it remained that way into the second half. Only with the introduction of Jadon Sancho for the ineffective Leon Bailey did Villa start to give Leeds more serious problems.
The nature of the equalising goal when it eventually came will also niggle Leeds, bundled in from a corner by Tammy Abraham with Dominic Calvert-Lewin unable to keep it out.
It’s a pisser for Leeds, but Villa perhaps face the more nervous end to the season here. Such is the world of shifting expectations that failure to qualify for the Champions League would now constitute a disappointing season, and there will just be nervous glances over shoulders.
Just as Leeds’ away form has improved, so Villa’s home form has tailed off. Imperious for so much of the season, Villa have now taken just four points from their last four home league games against Everton, Brentford, Brighton and Leeds – as well as last week’s FA Cup exit to Newcastle.
Like Leeds, they should still be absolutely fine in terms of meeting their key season-long target. But also like Leeds, they’ll know that a slightly different outcome today that they might not necessarily have deserved but could nonetheless have achieved would have made things look that bit comfier.