[ad_1]
Leeds 5-2 Newcastle: Marcelo Bielsa’s side back on track after coming from behind to record thumping win – with FIVE different players scoring
- Jeff Hendrick opened the scoring when he turned in Callum Wilson’s flick on
- Patrick Bamford equalised with his ninth Premier League goal of the season
- Jack Harrison’s volleyed cross set up Rodrigo who headed Leeds in front
- Ciaran Clark got Newcastle back level when he headed past Illan Meslier
- Stuart Dallas sent Leeds back ahead when he scored from Mateusz Klich’s cross
- Ezgjan Alioski and Harrison then put Leeds in complete control late in the game
Marcelo Bielsa had said Leeds were in a negative cycle. Come the end of this five-goal blitz it was Newcastle in a spin.
Leeds have been threatening to do this all season, give someone a hiding. Or at least they had before the recent loss of form that caused their manager to express his concern.
So this response was emphatic, washing away the doubts that had emerged and threatened to stain their return to the Premier League.
Jack Harrison is mobbed after capping a fine Leeds display with a stunning left-footed effort
Harrison let rip from outside the Newcastle area and watched as Karl Darlow was left helpless
Harrison celebrates scoring a fifth goal for Leeds which put them totally out of sight
The performance saw Gary Lineker declare that he ‘loves’ to watch them play, and even Bielsa – a man not prone to shows of satisfaction – looked rather pleased with this one.
‘I’m very happy,’ he said, pushing back the boundaries of his usual conservative reflections. ‘We created plenty of chances, particularly in the second half when we were more efficient.
‘The manner in which we managed the game patiently is what impressed me most.’
There were still some familiar failings – two poor concessions, including an eighth of the season from a set-piece – but at the other end they were back to their very best.
Jeff Hendrick converts Callum Wilson’s flick on at the far post to send Newcastle into the lead
Hendrick runs away to celebrate as Leeds defender Luke Ayling (left) appeals for offside
After Rodrigo’s effort hit the bar, Patrick Bamford was in position to head into an open net
Bamford celebrates after scoring the equaliser which took him to nine goals for the season
Rodrigo put Leeds in front when he met Jack Harrison’s excellent cross with a pinpoint header
Even when they fell behind in the first half there had been enough energy and invention about their start to suggest it would be no more than a momentary advantage for Steve Bruce’s visitors.
So it proved. Patrick Bamford levelled before the break and Rodrigo headed them in front just after the hour.
Newcastle’s Ciaran Clark then nodded an equaliser from a corner – that remains a worry for Bielsa – but Stuart Dallas, Ezgjan Alioski and Jack Harrison scored three times in 10 minutes to belatedly confirm the home side’s superiority – they had 69 per cent possession and a staggering 25 shots.
It could, then, have been far more than five. Brazilian Raphinha produced a first-half lowlights reel of missed chances, yet was still outstanding.
He had given up on shooting come the 35th minute and instead crossed for Rodrigo to head off the crossbar with Bamford following up for his ninth of the season, cancelling out Jeff Hendrick’s close-range finish nine minutes earlier.
For a club-record £26million, Rodrigo’s return of just one goal this season had been poor. But his diving header to put Leeds in front served as a reminder of the Spain forward’s class, especially given he had started the move in spraying wide to Harrison before striding into the area to connect with his team-mate’s bullet delivery.
Harrison and Rodrigo embrace after the Brazilian sent Marcelo Bielsa’s side into the lead
Ciaran Clark exposed Leeds’s weakness at set pieces when he rose highest to head home
Clark wheels away to celebrate Newcastle’s equaliser four minutes after Leeds had gone ahead
Clark then levelled and, while it felt unjust on the balance of play, you had to credit Newcastle’s resilience in taking the game to the final 12 minutes. After that, however, they were blown away.
Dallas headed in from a Mateusz Klich cross and Alioski climaxed a break so swift and incisive that the visiting team – charging back to recover – may as well have waited on halfway for the restart.
But the goal of the game belonged to man-of-the-match Harrison, a 25-yard stunner from another breakaway two minutes from time.
Bruce, whose side were also denied what looked a penalty at 1-1, bemoaned: ‘Up until the last 12 minutes I thought we were comfortable and looked a threat. But their goals at the end, they were something you’d see in a park on a Sunday. That was unacceptable.’
Perhaps the defending was Sunday League, but the finishing was very much Premier League. On this evidence, that is very much where Leeds belong.
Stuart Dallas arrived at the back post to score with a fine diving header past Karl Darlow
Ezgjan Alioski weaved his way through the Newcastle defence before firing beyond Darlow
It was Harrison’s turn next as he let fly with a fine left-footed effort that flew into the net
[ad_2]
Source link