Problems mounting as Bielsa’s boys hit the buffers again
MARCELO BIELSA admitted that Leeds are going through a troubling period after watching them lose to a controversial Nahki Wells goal at QPR.
Everything that could go wrong for Bielsa’s men did so at Loftus Road. Patrick Bamford missed a hatful of chances, Pablo Hernandez struck the post and Kalvin Phillips was sent-off for a crude lunge on Geoff Cameron.
Then there was the goal. Ebere Eze’s 20th-minute free-kick was headed into Wells’ right-hand by Luke Ayling from point-blank range. The ball then cannoned on to his left hand before dropping perfectly for him to slot home.
Bielsa said: “In football you have a lot of situations you cannot manage. Sometimes those kind of situations damage one team or they go in favour of one team. Today, everything you can imagine in one match was against us.
“Of course, we are in our worst moment in the Championship.
“It is clear that we lack efficiency to take all the chances we have. We need a lot of chances to score one goal. But that is not through a lack of confidence.”
Bamford wasted a simple chance to lob QPR keeper Liam Kelly in the first half and saw a series of headers go in every direction but goalwards.
His worst miss was the 62nd-minute penalty he had won by falling into the body of the advancing Kelly while the ball was running out for a goal-kick.
Rangers’ Scottish keeper ensured that justice was served by pushing away
Bamford’s weak spot-kick.
Bielsa defended Bamford, while also bemoaning the loss of Eddie Nketiah as a possible replacement after the Arsenal youngster was recalled from his loan spell at Elland Road earlier this month.
Bielsa said: “Bamford is our goalscorer. He scores but this is a bad period for him. He doesn’t seem to have changed what he does.
“It is necessary to evaluate Bamford by the number of chances he has in a match. Today he had a lot of chances.”
Leeds’ misery was completed by the final minutes in which Hernandez saw his free-kick clip the outside of the post and then Phillips careered into Cameron with the sort of recklessness that suggests he is getting fed up with Leeds falling apart after Christmas.
The dilemma for Rangers boss Mark Warburton is knowing which QPR team will turn up each week. Or even in each half.
Bright Osayi-Samuel, Ilias Chair and Eze ran Leeds ragged in the first half, then disappeared for long periods in the second.
Warburton said: “We could have had a couple of scruffy goals in the first half so the lead was deserved.”
STEVE COOK’S bizarre save of the season contender ended up sinking Bournemouth in this bad-tempered basement battle.
The Cherries defender was sent-off for conceding a first-half penalty that Teemu Pukki converted for the game’s only goal.
Norwich defender Ben Godfrey also saw red late on to become the first Premier League player to be dismissed via use of a touchline monitor.
And it all added up to Norwich’s first home win since September and Bournemouth’s 10th defeat in their last 12 games.
That heaped more pressure on Bournemouth boss Eddie Howe, who admitted Cook’s moment of madness had cost his side. He said: “The red card has decided the game. It was pure instinct from Steve.
“Of course, if he had thought about it, I think he would have let it go by.
“But you have to support him. A feeling of blame isn’t going to help us as a group.”
Norwich remain bottom but are now six points shy of safety thanks to their first Carrow Road clean sheet of the season. Bournemouth a points ahead of the Canaries and seemi a downward spiral.
Howe said: “We have to stick togeth fighting or we are going to run out of g was an opportunity lost.”
Cook’s Superman save was the highli first half.
Cherries keeper Aaron Ramsdale cam to get to a throughball ahead of Pukk straight to Canaries debutant Ondrej Du
The on-loan Hertha Berlin man’s i was going in until Cook leaped to dive post with his hand.
Referee Paul Tierney had no hesitatio