Classy Leeds hold their nerve to ease the anxiety at Elland Road
If Leeds United were wobbling like a knocked vase, teetering precariously on the edge of seeing another promotion push smashed to smithereens, this was the moment they stopped and stood tall again.
It was not as easy as it could have been, it rarely is for this team, but this was a classy performance against a promotion rival in Bristol City. Most of all it was a vital victory, the value of which soared when it emerged Leeds were the only team in the top eight to win.
Marcelo Bielsa’s team are three points clear of third place and look stable again, the roar that greeted the final whistle acknowledging the importance of the result, but also an appreciation of how hard it has been for these players to deliver under the pressure of lost form and poor results.
“The team controlled the match,” said a relaxed and appreciative Bielsa. “We defended very well, we attacked well, we scored just one goal but we had a lot of chances, we ran a lot, we recovered a lot of 50-50 balls and technically the team showed a higher level.
“We imposed ourselves as a team. And from the first minute we felt the support of our fans and that lasted all game. The team showed a lot of character and if there was tension, the team didn’t show it.”
It has not been easy watching Leeds lose a 13-point lead at the top of the table in almost identical fashion to last season’s spectacular implosion.
Leeds are a team watched with spinning stomachs, raised pulses and sweaty palms. Nervous and anxious, that is what Elland Road is like on a match day now. Packed and noisy as ever, but uncomfortable and tense.
Leeds needed to keep their wits and there is still hope buried within the anxiety and they remain a team who entertain as well as exasperate. Bristol
City wanted to play on those fears, to silence the crowd, let the nerves wreck Leeds and then take advantage. That was the plan but they did not get a chance. Leeds did not look scared; they were ready for the fight.
This was Bielsa’s Leeds at their best, playing with the relentless intensity that had been their forte before Christmas. Bristol were pummelled from the first whistle, pushed deeper and deeper as Leeds took control of possession and territory, corner after corner testing and probing the visiting defence.
Captain Liam Cooper headed over from one but Bristol could not get up the pitch. Two shots were blocked, desperate and last ditch, but finally the loose ball fell kindly for the home team and Luke Ayling made the net bulge.
Still Leeds kept coming, forcing mistakes, taking the ball back before Bristol could do anything with it. Leeds thought they had scored a second, but the cheer went up with the offside flag after Stuart Dallas’s effort had come back off the bar and Patrick Bamford stabbed in from close range.
Bamford went close again with a shot on the turn, then Helder Costa forced a good save from David Bentley who was also needed to tip away a Pablo Hernandez strike.
City’s players panted and wheezed as they huddled around on the touchline during a drinks break following an injury to Andreas Weimann. They managed one effort on goal before half-time, a weak Jamie Paterson header easily saved by Kiko Casilla. Outplayed, but not out of the game.
One goal did not feel like it would be enough and Bristol City had the wind behind them in the second half.
The Leeds fans in the South Stand sensed the fresh wave of unease, singing and chanting but their team remained on top, the better side, the side that should win.
However, as the hour mark came and went, Leeds started to look tired, the high press waned, the closing down slackened and the second goal had not been scored. Bamford missed a great chance soon after, the ball pulled back by Costa, but the connection was not firm enough with the side of his foot and Bentley saved.
Suddenly the nerves become audible, groans and stifled screams, with Costa doing superbly to gather Cooper’s long ball and take it around Bentley. The net was empty, the second goal was coming, but somehow the Bristol goalkeeper recovered and got a hand to the ball as the Portuguese hit it.
The fear was back and Nakhi Wells almost snatched an equaliser for Bristol, his shot creeping just wide of the top corner after Leeds had squandered possession inside their own half.
Leeds came again, Jack Harrison rattling the crossbar before January signing Jean-Kevin Augustin poked inches wide in stoppage time.
Too many missed chances, but this time it did not matter. Leeds are marching on together again.