Before the start of the season, it wasn’t so hard to imagine Leeds pushing for a European spot. Ninth last term, six points behind West Ham in sixth, a run of one defeat in their last 11 games – including impressive wins against Manchester City and Tottenham, among others – suggested they were on the verge of a breakthrough.
Throw in Kalvin Phillips’ standout performances at Euro 2020 and some intriguing signings in the form of Dan James and Junior Firpo and, even after a big opening day defeat to Manchester United, there was no shortage of optimism. While “second-season syndrome” is fast replacing “Bielsa burnout” at the top of the list of Leeds fans’ most-hated cliches, few would have expected them to go into their ninth league game three points above the relegation zone.
Injuries certainly haven’t helped, with Firpo, Luke Ayling, Patrick Bamford and Robin Koch all missing out against Wolves. Having sat out the 1-0 defeat to Southampton with a hip problem – his absence coinciding with what Marcelo Bielsa called Leeds’ worst performance of the season – Phillips only made the bench.
Bielsa made one tweak to the side which meandered to defeat at St Mary’s, bringing back Raphinha in place of Tyler Roberts. Bruno Lage made two changes to the team which pulled off a late comeback against Aston Villa last weekend, Rayan Ait-Nouri coming in for Fernando Marcal at left wing-back and Raul Jimenez swapping in for Ruben Neves as Wolves – having started with a 3-5-2 formation against Villa – reverted to a familiar 3-4-3.
On the evidence of their performance, if not the result, it would be premature to write off Leeds’ second season back in the Premier League. Having made an energetic start to the game – swarming Wolves off the ball and looking purposeful on it – they went behind against the run of play after Nelson Semedo flamed Jack Harrison for pace and picked out Raul Jimenez, whose deflected shot fell perfectly for Hwang Hee-chan.
From there until the dying moments of the game, Leeds shaded everything but the scoreline. They dominated possession, outpassed their opponents and created a steady stream of chances, registering 18 shots to Wolves’ eight. It was telling that only four of those were on target, however. Harrison and Raphinha strafed Jose Sa’s goal from the flanks in the first half, but they were let down by scattergun finishing. Up front, James struggled to adapt to his central role alongside Rodrigo.
Leeds were more effective going forwards after the introduction of Roberts for Harrison at half time, with Bielsa opting for a reshuffle. Raphinha was forced off not long afterwards after he was caught late by Romain Saiss, making way for teenage livewire Crysencio Summerville, before Bielsa made a game-changing substitution by bringing off Mateusz Klich for another teenager in Joe Gelhardt.
Gelhardt’s dynamism on the ball was the difference for Leeds. He almost levelled the scores himself after being put through by Rodrigo, forcing Sa into a fingertip save. From the resulting corner, he tried to dribble through the entire Wolves team and very nearly succeeded. With the clock ticking, he latched onto a flick-on from Roberts only to lash over the crossbar.
Just as it looked like it might be another frustrating afternoon for Bielsa’s side, Gelhardt danced into the area deep into injury time. Having set up the opener, Semedo bundled him over and handed Leeds a penalty. After a second half full of late tackles, missed opportunities and pantomime timewasting, the collective relief as Rodrigo converted from the spot was like an earthquake. Gelhardt could have won it with the last kick of the game, darting in behind on the right and cutting inside only for his shot to ricochet wide.
While Leeds remain three points above the relegation zone in 17th, their performance felt indicative of a team which has lost momentum as opposed to one which has lost its way like, say, Sheffield United last term. “It was a step forward compared to the game last week,” Bielsa said afterwards. Leeds need to take a few more steps forward before they can dream about making any great leaps up the table.
from Football – inews.co.uk https://ift.tt/3Eavnzh
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