HAIR WE GO!
Ayling shows Leeds are cut above as top flight beckons
THERE can be no doubt that Leeds are a Premier League team in waiting. Top of the table, seven points clear of third and surely they will not look back now.
And it is with no disrespect to the rest of the Championship, including West Brom, who are now second, but no other side comes close. Marcelo Bielsa’s players are fitter, more dynamic, tactically intelligent, technically better and less forgiving than any other team in the second tier.
There is a distinct aura about this group who not only outrun but out- think their opponents. Huddersfield did what they could, opting for a risky possessionbased approach, but it did not stop Leeds racking up their fifth st raight victory and a fifth consecutive clean sheet.
From defence to attack, Leeds can just about profit from any position on the pitch. Whether that be full back Luke Ayling, who sent Leeds into an early lead and has now scored three goals in five games, or Patrick Bamford, who can be frustrating to watch but who also buried Huddersfield with a poacher’s finish inside the six-yard area.
‘They are the best team in the di vi s i on,’ s ai d Huddersfield manager Danny Cowley. ‘Look at them, the energy, the intensity, the style of play and their habits. They are relentless.’
They are also versatile. Cowley would have thought his side may have a chance given Kalvin Phillips’ absence with a knee injury, but an easy solution was found by moving Ben White forward with Gaetano Berardi filling in at centre back.
Each player is expected to be able to fulfil a different role at any one time and they do it with such an intensity it can leave opposition players bamboozled.
Barely any time was on the clock before a signature Bielsa move came into play. Flying winger Jack Harrison, who was Leeds’ best player here, darted down the left. From there he could have aimed for the six-yard box with a cross but opted to play his pass deeper, knowing Ayling had sprinted into position from right back.
The ball was delivered with pinpoint accuracy and Ayling did brilliantly to meet it in mid-air and guide a right-footed volley over the top of Huddersfield goalkeeper Jonas Lossl. It struck the underside of the bar on the way in and Elland Road erupted.
Huddersfield could have folded and no doubt the side who started t he season after l ast year’s relegation may well have done.
But Cowley’s side showed how far they have come under his management, a team who were destined for the drop but are now expected to survive.
They do, though, lack a clinical edge as shown by T rev oh Chalobah, who had a chance to equalise but fired straight at Illan Meslier.
And when you do not make the most of inviting openings — such as Karlan Grant when he weaved into the Leeds box from a corner before going to ground — you tend to get burned by a side that can move up the pitch with such speed.
A swift counter that involved Harrison, Bamford and Helder Costa sent Huddersfield a warning before Leeds went one better after 51 minutes.
Lossl got a hand to White’s header but Bamford was in prime position to score his 13th goal of the season.
‘I am happy for him,’ said Bielsa. ‘A centre forward needs to score and he couldn’t do it for a long time. Today he scored a typical goal from a centre forward and it is going to be useful for him.’
Huddersfield went into damage limitation mode, the result taken care of, but Leeds wanted more. The volume cranked up again as Harrison bent a shot towards the top right corner before it struck the bar and bounced away.
The biggest attendance of the s eason at Ell and Road was announced as 36,514 and prompted the home supporters to sing: ‘You’ve only come to see the Leeds.’ Lucky for the Huddersfield fans, if Leeds do not mess this up now, they will not have to next season.