BONNE JOVIAL Bowyer glee at game plan... but Bielsa slams Lamps
CHARLTON ATHLETIC 1 LEEDS UNITED 0
LEE BOWYER spent seven happy years at Leeds but his tactical switch helped outfox his old club and Marcelo Bielsa.
The former Elland Road hero changed systems throughout the game, and the winner from league debutant Macauley Bonne came after hours of set-piece work on the training ground.
Bonne got the final touch after Tom Sawyer had shot from Josh Cullen’s 32nd-minute corner.
And then a superb, spirited display from the Addicks ensured they held on as Leeds slipped from first to fourth.
No wonder Bowyer ( right), a reluctant manager, was ecstatic at the finish.
He said: “To beat the best team in the league is always a good achievement. We deserved it, we CHARLTON LEEDSUTD 3 ........ Shots on Target .........4 0 ........Shots off Target .........9 2 ................Corners ...............13 9 ..................Fouls.................. 15 0 ...............Offsides ..................1 56.3 .Passing Success % ..80.3 213 ........Total Passes.........518 28.4 ....Possession % ...... 71.6 47.2 ..Territorial Adv % ..52.8 were under a bit of pressure at times. But we knew it would be tough.
“Tactically we were spot on. The gameplan was to try to start with four at the back. Then try to press high.
“But because of the way they played out it was tough.
“I ’d been watching their games and once we went to a back three they struggled and it paid off. We also thought they had a weakness at set-pieces.
“The players put their bodies on the line, it was never say die.”
Leeds dominated this game from start to finish but lacked any kind of cutting edge. Ben White was denied by Dillon Phillips early on while Patrick Bamford, wasteful throughout, saw a header go over the bar.
Then a brilliant Jonathan Leko block prevented Ezgjan Alioski’s goalbound effort from going in.
Charlton got their goal at just the right moment with Kiko Casilla at fault from the corner and Bonne, frustrated since moving f rom Leyton Orient, taking his moment of glory in the big time. The second half featured Leeds camped inside the home half unable to find the net.
Tom Lockyer, who was otherwise magnificent, came close to finding his own net clearing a Stuart Dallas cross.
Then substitute Eddie Nketiah stabbed a shot agonisingly wide of the post.
Attempting to analyse just how his side lost this game, Bielsa said: “The difference between both teams was big. The fact we didn’t impose our superiority is the explanation for what happened.
“We need to focus more on our difficulties. They had one shot, one goal. We had possession, we controlled the game.
“Our players are better than their players. We had more resources on the pitch and could not impose this difference.
“Maybe we spent too much time in possession and maybe we could have created more easy chances.”
Meanwhile, Bielsa hit back at Chelsea manager Frank Lampard for claiming Leeds’ Uefa Fair Play award was a “strange decision”.
Bielsa spied on Lampard’s Derby last term but Leeds were given their honour for allowing Aston Villa to score unchallenged.
The Argentine said: “Observing your opponent training, I am responsible for that, not the players.
“Lampard understands that fact. It is not enough not to recognise what happened against Aston Villa.”