BLUEBIRDS’ COMEBACK STUNS BIELSA
ABEMUSED Leeds United boss Marcelo Bielsa says he cannot explain how his side threw away a threegoal lead against Cardiff.
The home side got off to a blistering start and had a twogoal advantage after just eight minutes when Helder Costa and Patrick Bamford pounced.
Bamford made it 3-0 shortly after the break from the penalty spot, before Lee Tomlin gave the Bluebirds hope.
Sean Morrison reduced the deficit futher in the 82nd minute and was sent off four minutes later, but Cardiff weren’t done just yet and snatched an unlikely point when Robert Glatzel scored.
“I did not get the preparation right because I knew about Cardiff City’s strengths and we didn’t resolve it,” he said.
“We knew how dangerous they are in the air and from setpieces. Set-pieces are crucial in this division and Cardiff made us pay in that area.
“Some of our attacking play was the best I have seen from Leeds and it is difficult to explain the result.
“There is no way we should have drawn that game. I felt the substitutes were OK, we needed to take Bamford off to freshen things up a bit
“We wanted to give Stuart Dallas more help down the left and to get more height out on the pitch.
“I don’t look back on the subs and think I got it wrong. I felt that we were defending okay and, even at 3-2, the team was calm.
“Defensively we were not that bad, but they have exploited us for the third goal.”
Leeds got off to a great start when Costa fired in via a post after Pablo Hernandez’s long ball picked him out following a sixth-minute counter-attack.
It got even better for the home side two minutes later when Bamford doubled their lead after getting on the end of a Dallas cross.
And they looked to be cruising when Bamford converted a penalty that he had won seven minutes into the second half.
Tomlin pulled a goal back on the hour mark after Kiko Casalli failed to claim a cross.
Morrison headed home after 82 minutes from Joe Bennett’s cross as Cardiff set up a tense finish. But Morrison was the villain soon after – he was red carded for a lunge on Eddie Nketiah four minutes later.
Cardiff levelled after 88 minutes when Glatzel slotted home after Pascal Struijk failed to clear his lines.
Leeds could have won it four minutes into stoppage time when Nketiah had a header saved by Neil Etheridge, before Ben White hit the rebound wide.
A delighted City boss Neil Harris hailed his side’s ability to hang in there. “Leeds are one of the best sides I have seen in the Championship in years. They were better than us, but we gave them a leg up, we gave poor goals away and their penalty was debatable. The boys have shown great character to come from behind, but we cannot give good teams a start and shoot ourselves in the foot.
“We got off to a bad start, Leeds are very dangerous on the counter attack.
“I have got 11 points from my six games in charge, so I am really pleased with that return. The message is getting across to the players and the confidence is growing.”