Substitute Tammy Abraham scored his first Premier League goal for Aston Villa since his return to the club as the hosts snatched a draw against Leeds United.

The visitors had been on the verge of only their second away league win of the season after a superb 30-yard free-kick from Anton Stach gave them the lead.

Stach scored in the 31st minute when it appeared he would play the ball to the far post but caught Emiliano Martinez out of position and fired the ball into the top corner.

But Abraham, who rejoined Villa in an £18.2m deal from Besiktas at the end of the January transfer window, made it 1-1 when he flicked the ball with his knee into the net after Ezri Konsa had won a knockdown from a corner.

For Villa, who would have gone level on points with second-placed Manchester City with a win, it was a deserved point as they dominated after going behind.

They had a great chance to equalise in first-half injury-time only for Karl Darlow to make an excellent save to deny Amadou Onana. The hosts pushed for an equaliser but Darlow made a superb one-handed save to push Emiliano Buendia's effort on to the post.

But Darlow was finally beaten in the 88th minute as Villa grabbed a draw.

Villa remain third, seven points behind leaders Arsenal, who play in the North London derby at Tottenham on Sunday.

Meanwhile, Leeds' point takes them seven clear of the relegation zone.

Last month boss Unai Emery dismissed talk of his side pushing to become English champions, instead saying they were unlikely to finish in the top five - and this was another sign they are not ready to challenge in the title race.

The result means they have only picked up five points from their past four matches, although they remain in a strong position to qualify for next season's Champions League.

Before the match, writing in the matchday programme, Emery was trying to remind the fans the club were having a fine season despite recent results going against them.

He wrote: "We are at a beautiful and fantastic moment to compete in two competitions for the remainder of the season. It is the moment to show our wishes and follow our dreams.

"We have a great opportunity to achieve our objectives and dream of big things. Our position in the table is enviable and we all would have signed up for it before the season began."

Nevertheless, this was a chance missed against a side with such a poor away record and there was a smattering of boos from the home fans at half-time.

But those boos turned into cheers with the late goal.

Villa dominated the second half and, after the introduction of Jadon Sancho and Abraham, they piled on the pressure.

Abraham, who scored 25 goals in 37 Championship appearances for Villa during a loan spell from Chelsea in 2018-19, was the one to make the breakthrough.

He had grabbed a goal in the 3-1 loss to Newcastle in the FA Cup a week ago and he was on target again to the delight of the Villa faithful.

For Leeds, who won the Championship last season, this was a step closer to securing their top-flight status for another campaign, although they will be hugely disappointed to have not held on for all three points.

They looked to be in trouble at the end of November but since December they have collected 20 points from 14 games, only losing twice in that period.

Before the 3-1 win over Nottingham Forest at the beginning of the month, Farke said they needed 12 points to ensure survival - and they now have five of those after a win and two draws.

Although the manner of Stach's wonderful strike surprised most of those in a sold-out Villa Park, the visitors had been good value for their lead with 10-goal top scorer Dominic Calvert-Lewin a constant handful.

On the first of two good chances, a heavy touch enabled Konsa to recover and make a perfectly-timed sliding challenge. Calvert-Lewin's touch was much better on the second occasion as he raced on to Jayden Bogle's well-weighted ball over the top, only for Calvert-Lewin to be denied by Martinez's excellent save.

In the second half, Leeds had to defend deeply but did create a couple of chances.

Calvert-Lewin had an effort saved by Martinez, who also saved a diving header from Lukas Nmecha, and the failure to score a second proved costly.

Aston Villa travel to bottom of the table Wolves on Friday, before entertaining Chelsea on Wednesday, 4 March. After that they will play an away match in the first leg of their last-16 tie in the Europa League on Thursday, 12 March, but it is not yet known who they will face.

Leeds have three home games in a row, starting with Manchester City next Saturday, followed by Sunderland on Tuesday, 3 March, then Championship side Norwich City in the fifth round of the FA Cup on Sunday, 8 March.