5-STAR LEEDS BACK ON TOP
Passionate board put Bielsa in with a shout
NO stone unturned, no voice unheard. Marcelo Bielsa is a manager who works on marginal gains and it is little surprise that Elland Road is the most intimidating ground in the country right now.
If that plays a part in ending the club’s 16-year wait for Premier League football, then credit to those who brought the noise.
Leeds are now just seven points from promotion and have four games to achieve what would be a deserved return to the top table, for they were ruthless here.
But so much for the notion of behind-closed-doors giving an advantage to the away team.
Not in this corner of West Yorkshire, it doesn’t. Close your eyes and, with Leeds on the attack, you’d be forgiven for thinking they had let the fans back in.
The suits double as the ultras here and, from the posh seats, director of football Victor Orta orchestrates that partisan presence.
You have to applaud how well-drilled they are, rising in unison to offer encouragement at every drinks interval and substitution.
Bielsa, you suspect, will be the brains behind the bawls, so meticulous is he in preparation.
One well-dressed cheerleader even did a jig of delight when Leeds were awarded a penalty on the stroke of half-time. Mateusz Klich rolled home his seventh of the season and so sounded the roar of an artificial crowd, not that we needed it.
By the time the unmarked Helder Costa doubled the lead with a closerange poke early in the second half, the directors’ box had dispensed with social distancing.
At least Stoke’s backline were adhering to it.
What the outpouring of emotion among the executives told you was how much this means to a club who have gone all-in on Bielsa.
The Argentine’s post-match reflections could do with a dose of charisma, though. ‘It was a positive performance and the manager will always be happy if you have that sort of positive effort,’ he said.
Pablo Hernandez may be 35 years old but he did enough during a 45-minute cameo to emerge as the game’s outstanding player.
The Spaniard laid on a third for Liam Cooper before gently caressing one of his own into the bottom corner from 12 yards. Patrick Bamford then smashed a fifth in stoppage-time to cap what had been a noisy night.