Sunday Mirror

LEEDS UTD 3

- By NEIL GOULDING at Ewood Park

MARCELO BIELSA warned about future distractio­ns as his Leeds side took a step closer to a Premier League return.

Goals from Patrick Bamford, Kalvin Phillips and Mateusz Klich did the damage as the on-song Whites moved four points clear of rivals West Brom with five games to go.

Table-toppers Leeds are desperate to not make the same mistake as last season and miss out on a return to the top flight for the first time since 2004.

“This period is very important and every distractio­n is important because we’ll pay for that,” warned boss Bielsa, whose side have lost just one of their last 10 games.

“Blackburn made some modificati­ons which we didn’t expect, but when the match progressed we could start the attack moving the ball and use more long passes.”

Leeds took the lead after Klich stole the ball off Lewis Travis to tee-up Bamford, who picked out the bottomleft corner with a sweet strike for his third goal in five games and 15th goal of a productive season.

Rovers should have been level moments later but Sam Gallagher squandered a glorious chance. The forward latched on to an Adam Armstrong pass but dragged his shot horribly wide.

Gallagher teed up Lewis Holtby a minute later, but the striker fired against the right post.

Right-back Ryan Nyambe, making his 100th league start, made a superb last-ditch block to charge down Tyler Roberts’ point-blank effort, but at the other end Bamford smashed a shot off the left post. Midfielder Joe Rothwell curled a right-foot shot over the bar for Rovers, but a moment of brilliance from playmaker Phillips put the Whites in the driving seat.

His stunning free-kick flew into the top-left corner and left keeper Christian Walton no chance.

Phillips turned villain immediatel­y after the break, though, when he conceded a clumsy free-kick on the edge of his own box. Armstrong stepped up and curled a wonderful effort into the top-right corner.

Polish midfielder Klich restored the two-goal cushion when he snuck a shot past Walton into the left corner after Jack Harrison’s initial shot had been

BLACKBURN LEEDS UTD 3 ............. Shots on Target ........... 5 8 ............. Shots off Target ........... 5 0 ............... Blocked Shots ............ 7 0 ..................... Corners ................... 4 18 ....................... Fouls .................... 12 1 ...................... Offsides .................. 6 1 .................. Yellow Cards .............. 2 0 ................... Red Cards ................ 0 67.0 ..... Passing Success %... 77.7 48 ................. Duels Won .............. 47 50.5 ....... Duel Success % ..... 49.5 11 ...................... Tackles ................... 9 63.6 ........ Tackles Won % ...... 44.4 40.1 .......... Possession % ....... 59.9 53.5 ....... Territoria­l Adv % .... 46.5 309 ............ Total Passes ......... 457 2 ................ Total Crosses ............ 15 137 ................ Lost Balls ............. 148 56 ................ Recoveries .............. 76 44.4 ........ 1stHalfPos­s% ...... 55.6 35.8 ...... 2nd Half Poss % ..... 64.2 blocked. Walton was lucky to stay on the pitch after he hauled down Bamford on the edge of the box, but he made amends to deny Barry Douglas from the subsequent free-kick.

Skipper Liam Cooper headed wide as Leeds came close to scoring again, but by then the damage had been done.

Rovers’ play-off hopes now look over and boss Tony Mowbray said: “We conceded soft goals, but their third goal was a killer for us.

“They came with an attitude and belief they were going to win, but it’s frustratin­g because we missed chances.

“Was the gap massive? I don’t think so. I think we could have got something from the game.”

 ??  ?? KLINCHER Mateusz Klich wrapped it up for Leeds
PHIL YER BOOTS Kalvin Phillips (third left) fires home the second goal for Leeds
WHAM BAM Patrick Bamford slots home an early opener for the visitors
KLINCHER Mateusz Klich wrapped it up for Leeds PHIL YER BOOTS Kalvin Phillips (third left) fires home the second goal for Leeds WHAM BAM Patrick Bamford slots home an early opener for the visitors
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