Leeds United 1 — West Ham 2
wandering lost through the Premier League
Leeds United are playing pretty poorly right now. They had a few moments against West Ham, and some long stretches controlling the ball, but they seem incapable of doing enough to be a scoring threat. Being awful on the other team’s set pieces only compounds the problem.
The Hammers scored on a corner that was given away unnecessarily by Harrison and a foul given away unnecessarily by Costa. The commentators blamed Meslier for making a mess of the first goal, but they never noticed that he, like a lot of players, lost his footing as he lunged for the ball. The real culprit was Dallas, not keeping his body on his man. Cooper did the same on the second goal, chasing the free kick — a ball he was never going to win — and giving Ogbonna a free header.
Meanwhile, on offense, the moment Leeds got anywhere near the scoring area, everything fell apart. Passes were errant, or hopelessly hopeful; crosses were abysmal, and Rodrigo sent two shots straight at the keeper while Bamford panicked on an open shot and slung it wide.
As the game progressed, Leeds became sloppier and sloppier, passing into empty areas or directly at West Ham players, throwing up hopeless crosses, and having no flow or purpose to their game. That is the part that will probably anger Bielsa the most. In the second half especially, the team seemed to forget everything they likely worked on in training.
The trouble, of course, is the level of opponent is so much higher in the Premier, and a number of Leeds players have not adapted sufficiently. Harrison seems to be a step slower this season. Klich has almost no confidence in his shots or passes (and needed two attempts to score Leeds’ early penalty). Cooper makes critical mistakes at just the wrong time. Phillips and Ayling are rock solid, but they don’t have the supporting cast needed. Rodrigo still isn’t back in form after a long layoff, and he has little game experience with Raphinha.
It’s disappointing to lose again at home, but this is a season for Leeds to feel what it’s like at this level and to learn what is needed to thrive. They are not going to be relegated; they are far better than the teams in real danger. And if they can have even a good half, score a couple of goals, and gain some confidence, they could return to the mid-table form they were showing earlier.
In the meantime, fans are going to be watching games as I watched this one today: head in hands trying to keep it all in perspective.
#MOT
