Leeds kick off Bielsa era by sinking Stoke
Marcelo Bielsa will admit his new club have a long way to go to deliver the “beautiful football” he promised when he took over at Leeds this summer but, after 14 seasons away from the Premier League, the club’s long-suffering fans will gladly accept plenty more of the same over the coming nine months.
Gary Rowett conceded that many of his newly-relegated Stoke players were shocked by the intensity and pace of the Championship but Bielsa, on day one at least, certainly made his transition from the elite of world and European football to the muck and nettles of England’s second tier look painfully simple.
“It’s a dynamic team, it’s an offensive team, it’s a team that dares to play,” said Bielsa of his winning line-up. “My team took risks when they were moving the ball so these are the positive aspects even though we lacked a little bit of experience at the end of the game.
“The atmosphere was even better than I thought it would be, the fans were connected to the players for every second of the game. I hope our football will create a positive reaction from the fans.”
Those fans, experiencing their biggest opening weekend win of a season in 16 years, certainly needed little encouragement to get behind a new manager of whom no less a disciple than Pep Guardiola this week spoke of his “incredible admiration”.
After six exhilarating minutes, Jack Butland’s reflexes denied Kemar Roofe at the near post and, nine minutes later, Leeds were ahead – although Bielsa remained glued to the plastic bucket on which he sat outside the Leeds dugout – through Mateusz Klich, who finished tidily after superb footwork and a through ball from Samuel Saiz played him in.
On the stroke of half-time, the lead was doubled, with an assist from Butland who allowed a Pablo Hernandez shot through his gloves after Barry Douglas’s lay-off.
There were glimpses of uncertain defending from Leeds, not least after 52 minutes when Douglas needlessly tripped Tom Ince close to goal and debutant Benik Afobe scored from the spot.
But within four minutes, Douglas had made amends, helping to win a corner from which he himself planted the ball on to the head of Liam Cooper who glanced a superb, angled finish past Butland.
Stoke had come close in between the opening two Leeds goals, with Ince hitting the bar and James Mcclean wasting a two-on-one break, but this was a scoreline that might actually have flattered Rowett’s side. They still had a late flurry in them, although only really after the introduction of veteran Peter Crouch gave them a consistent threat, and Bailey Peacock-farrell was forced to save a Mcclean freekick before almost letting a header from the Stoke substitute creep past him at the far post.
“We all knew a team coming down from the Premier League might find the Championship a different challenge and you saw that today,” said Stoke manager Gary Rowett. “One or two players were surprised by the intensity and some of the players didn’t do their job well enough.
“Elland Road is a fantastic place to play, but not so much if you’re the away team. You don’t have time to settle and wait and have a fiveminute breather. It’s up and at you all the time.”
Leeds