Eddie is complete package for Bielsa
ON-LOAN GUNNER ON FIRE AGAIN TO SEND LEEDS TOP
Bielsa’s side dug out a hard-fought victory as crowd violence soured this Yorkshire derby at Oakwell.
Nketiah came off the bench to grab his fourth goal in six games and then won a decisive penalty to finish off Barnsley.
The celebrations were marred by scuffling Leeds fans. Punches were thrown at stewards and four supporters were later arrested.
At full-time, one supporter ran around the perimeter of the pitch to fight the home fans and was dragged away.
That threatened to steal the headlines from the supersub, and Bielsa said: “Nketiah is a striker who scores goals.
“Some players get involved a lot in finishing moves, more than creating them. He is a finisher.
“He has good characteristics to combine with his team-mates, to play in this side and give us more options. He is a complete player.”
It took 84 minutes for Leeds to break a spirited Barnsley, who could have been out of sight had they taken their own chances. The opener was created by Kalvin Phillips, fresh from signing a new five-year deal, who curled an inswinging free-kick to the back post that was impossible to defend and Nketiah popped up to guide it home.
The 20-year-old spoke this week while on England Under-21 duty about impressing Gunners manager Unai Emery with his form at Leeds.
The report back to the Emirates will also note Nketiah’s pace won the late penalty, which Mateusz Klich converted, after the loanee was felled by Aapo Halme.
Leeds claimed their sixth consecutive away win in all competitions for only the third time and their the first since 1963. Bielsa said: “We deserved to win, but could have lost. It was open-ended.We ran a lot, we tried to play and the team got better.
“Honestly it is incredible, the Championship is so special that a team like Barnsley are near the bottom.
“We pushed hard. We kept going with the same intensity.That is what changed the game. Sometimes you also need some luck to get a goal.Winning brings calm to me.”
Asked about the crowd trouble, Bielsa said: “I am sorry that something like that happened, but I didn’t see it.”
Barnsley are already in a relegation fight, winless in seven games in league and cup. But they had the upper hand in chances created in the second half and did not look as bad as their league position suggested.
Manager Daniel Stendel said: “I was proud of our performance. We created many chances against Leeds, but we had to take them at the right moment. We had two or three big chances after 50 minutes.
“You can see why Leeds have ambitions to get promoted. They were the better team, but for our efforts we deserved a point. At least we are back to our style of play.
“With the attitude and mentality we showed I know we can score and have big chances to win. I’m sure we can change things. But we have to play like this every week and score to stay in the league.”
BARNSLEY (4-1-4-1): Collins 7; Cavare
6, Halme 6, Williams 6 (Pinillos 71); Thomas 6 (Thiam 67, 6), Sibbick 6, Woodrow (Bahre 80); Wilks 7.
LEEDS (4-1-4-1): Casilla 7; Dallas 6, Cooper 6, White 6, Alioski 6; Phillips 7; Hernandez 6, Shackleton 6, Klich 7 (Berardi 89), Harrison 5 (Costa 46, 6); Bamford 6 (Nketiah 70, 7). Goals: Nketiah 84, Klich 89 pen. 6, Andersen Mowatt 6; 6, Brown 6