Leeds United hosted Fulham at Elland Road for their first home game of the 2020/21 campaign in what was the second 7 goal thriller of their season.
The long anticipated return of Leeds United to the Premier League is only two games in, but it already has the makings of a season to remember. In their second game of the season, Leeds partook in yet another high scoring affair as they played fellow promoted side Fulham. Just as as with their top flight debut against Liverpool, Leeds were involved in yet another 7 goal thriller that saw the Peacocks control a rather comfortable first half, only to have the second 45 minutes explode into an absolute goal fest as defensive frailties once again plagued Leeds.
Those defensive frailties led to openings that offered Fulham a chance to get back into position to come away from this match with something, creating a game, at least from a neutral’s standpoint, that was extremely electrifying and entertaining to watch. Unlike their encounter with the Premier League Champions however,
Leeds were able to take 3 points at Elland road, which should put some wind in their sails as they continue their venture into top flight football. Lets take a look at some of the key talking points this games had to offer.
Klich, Costa and Bamford lead impressive Leeds attack:
First, lets start with the positives, and the main one to mention is that Leeds just cannot stop scoring. From thew first whistle it was clear that the Peacocks were primed and ready to hit the back of the net against a side they’ve gotten to know well in the Championship. It only took 4 minutes for Portuguese winger Hélder Costa to open his Premier League account for the season. A well taken corner by Kalvin Phillips ricocheted off the head of a Fulham defender to find its way to Costa, who took a touch to bring the ball down and then rifled it past Fulham new boy Alphonse Areola. Fulham’s new keeper was in for a long debut, as it would not be the last time Costa set his sights on the Fulham goal.
In the 33rd minute, a penalty went the way of Fulham, but it wouldn’t be long before a penalty was give the other way as well. Patrick Bamford was brought down in Fulham’s box by Joe Bryan. Polish midfielder Mateusz Klich slotted past Alphonse Areola to extend his scoring streak to 2 for the season. Bamford would get in on the action early in the second half, with Klich turning provider for Leeds’ striker. A wonderful through ball by the Pole allowed Bamford to bury his shot in the bottom right corner.
A fourth goal would soon follow in the 51st minute with Bamford now turning provider for Costa once again. a very nice cut-back into the box for Costa allowed the Portuguese winger to rifle past Areola once more, singling what seemed to be the makings of a full on rout.
From an attacking standpoint Leeds have managed to impress so far. Their attacking players have been fluid and hungry, wanting to continuously create chances. They may not score 7 goals every two games all season long but once again, it shows that they are well and truly ready to apply what they learned in the Championship and put opposition goals under threat all season long.
Koch gives away another penalty as Leeds’ defense allow 3 goals:
Despite the attacking prowess Leeds have so far displayed, the defensive end of their game has been rather leaky only two games in, for while they’ve been able to score 7 goals, they’ve also allowed 7 goals in the net at the same time, which begs the question, is their current form sustainable?
The short answer is no. The reasoning behind that answer isn’t hard to understand, either. As mentioned previously, Leeds United’s attack has been firing on all cylinders, something that isn’t sustainable all season long, especially against the type of opposition Leeds will be playing in the Premier League. Sooner or later teams will begin to respect Leeds a bit more and be much more wary around them, which will inevitably see them face more defensive sides than both Liverpool and Fulham. More defensive sides means less goals, which means they won’t be able to outscore defensive mistakes. This means manager Marcelo Bielsa will have to find the appropriate defensive setup to make sure Leeds shores up the back line and provide a bit more cover for keeper Ilan Meslier.
That being said, it isn’t all doom and gloom for the Peacocks just yet. Despite two penalties given away in two games, Robin Koch still has time to become a defensive stalwart for Leeds, which I expect him to do sooner rather than later. Aside from his mistake in fouling Joe Bryan, Koch put in some crucial tackles and headers that made sure Leeds didn’t concede even more than they did. Just minutes after giving away the penalty, Koch dispossesed Fulham striker Aleksandar Mitrović in the box, thus quelling a dangerous opportunity for the Serbian international to double his goal tally for the game. In doing so he proved he can make clean, crucial tackles, something I expect to see more of as he grows in confidence.
In addition to his defensive contributions, Koch’s passing forward has been quite decent as well. In particular he provided a very nice ball over the Fulham defense for Patrick Bamford in the 24th minute, despite Bamford being called offside in the end. He also had a chance to score his first goal for Leeds, which was just denied by Areola after a well worked corner. The signs are promising, despite the iffy start to life in the English top flight.
Leeds will also be helped defensively by the return of Liam Cooper. Cooper missed Leeds United’s opener as he was still recovering from injury, but as he regains match fitness he will surely continue to play an important role for their defensive setup going forward, as he did last year.
One defensive player that has impressed me in particular has been Stuart Dallas, however. Dallas was full of energy and played up and down the pitch, making marauding runs and providing incisive through balls in an attempt to feed attacking players like Bamford. He also worked hard to make important interceptions which also played a crucial role in stemming the flow of Fulham’s attacks later in the game.
Final Thoughts:
All in all, despite the scoreline, I do believe the elements are there for Leeds to have a successful Premier League season going forward. The defensive end of business is of course something Bielsa will have to work on with his team, but experienced manager that he is, I expect him to be fully capable of working it out with the players at his disposal. I also hope that the Peacock’s attack continues to run rampant for as long as possible, because the likes of Klich, Bamford, Costa and Harrison have been a joy to watch so far.
Leeds will be away to Sheffield United this coming weekend, which should provide another opportunity for the Peacocks to get a crucial 3 points. They will be up against one of last last year’s surprise packages, which, under Chris Wilder, finished 9th. Sheffield haven’t had the brightest starts this time around, however, losing both their opening fixtures to Wolves and Aston Villa. Under usual circumstances a fixture like this wouldn’t be cause for mass excitement, but I think every game Leeds play will cause a stir if their attacking form continues to produce such scorelines. They may not be the biggest name in football, but Leeds United are certainly writing their own entertaining story in the history of the Premier League. We’re just lucky to be able to watch it unfold.