Leeds pay the price as Wolves land the killer blow
WHITES FAIL TO CAPITALISE ON FIRST- HALF DOMINANCE AT ELLAND ROAD
FOR 45 minutes, it was a wonderful watch from Leeds United, but you do not get points for artistic impression in the Premier League.
The Whites pinned Wolverhampton Wanderers to the ropes throughout the first half without landing a killer blow. Eventually the Portuguese men of war wriggled free and delivered the knockout blow themselves.
Raul Jimenez is not the sort of dead- eyed assassin who takes pity on opponents and although Kalvin Phillips’s unfortunate header provided the killer touch, it was he who condemned them to a dispiriting 1- 0 defeat.
Leeds suffered a blow before the game started, with Liam Cooper – who was a doubt for the game with an abductor injury – pulling out of the warm- up 20 minutes before kick- off. With Diego Llorente also injured, Pascal Struijk came into the side on the left of what was basically a back three.
The young Belgian was involved in the game’s decisive moment – although he could hardly be blamed for it.
By and large Leeds were 3- 1- 42, allowing Rodrigo to play at centreforward, but with Luke Ayling attacking with abandon from the right of defence and left- sided central midfielder Stuart Dallas occasionally dropping into leftback, it was more fluid than that.
At one point in the first half right wing- back Helder Costa sprinted into the right centreback position as Pedro Neto attacked without success down the other side.
In the early stages, Leeds targeted Wolves’ left as they dominated possession against a team which also likes to feel the ball on their boots. But possession counts for nothing if you cannot take your chances, and the visitors turned the game their way from the final move of the opening period. By the time Leeds got momentum back, it was too late.
There were only three shots on target in the opening period, two by Leeds, but Daniel Podence forced the best save from Illan Meslier.
Costa was the first to go galloping down the right- hand side when Mateusz Klich’s pass released him, only for Connor Coady to cut out the cross. A quickly- taken free- kick by Phillips released Ayling.
The quickness of Leeds’s thought was a joy in the 17th minute when Patrick Bamford played the ball into Rodrigo, whose backheel allowed Dallas to release Bamford down the right. It was a pity Costa’s dragged shot
at the end of the move did not match the groundwork.
Ayling had a shot blocked by Maximillian Kilman, then served up a cross Rodrigo hung in the air to, but could not direct.
Ayling and Jack Harrison played volleyed passes but Coady got to the latter one before Bamford. It was typical of the ‘ maybe’ moments for Leeds.
Phillips played a clever corner along the ground to Harrison outside the area but his shot was blocked, leading to another corner Rodrigo shot at Rui Patricio from.
All Wolves – in a Portugal- style away strip which was a firm nod
to the make- up of their team – managed in the first half was their sign- off to the first 45, Roman Saiss pulling the ball back from the byline for Podence to bring Meslier into the game.
After the break, Jimenez gave a sign of things to come by beating Struijk to the ball and feeding Podence, but Robin Koch got back to block and Costa again showed his defensive diligence with a good interception.
Saiss found the net with a good touch and volley after 54 minutes. Video assistant referee Michael Oliver ruled creator Podence offside, but it was a warning Leeds did not heed.
Minutes later Podence forced Meslier into a stretching save.
Just as the balance of play had shifted from Leeds to Wolves, so the emphasis switched to the opposite flank, moreso once Adama Traore came onto the right.
But it was Jimenez, peeling wide, who made the game’s only goal from there. Struijk tracked him but slipped on the turf at a crucial moment. Still, there was a long time before the centre- forward cut into more familiar territory and fired a shot Phillips headed the other side of a helpless Meslier.
Leeds caused problems from the left byline in their search for
an equaliser, but substitute Pablo Hernandez’s shot from Harrison’s pull- back deflected over and when Ian Poveda’s effort from a cross by Harrison’s replacement, debutant Raphinha, did likewise, Rodrigo could only stretch out a leg in the vain hope of making contact.
Leeds United: Meslier; Ayling, Koch, Struijk ( Hernandez 76); Phillips; Costa ( Poveda 71), Klich, Dallas, Harrison ( Raphinha 82); Bamford, Rodrigo. Unused substitutes: Alioski, Roberts, Casilla, Shackleton.
Wolverhampton Wanderers: Rui Patrício; Boly, Coady. Kilman; Semedo, Dendoncker, Moutinho ( Neves 82), Neto ( Marcal 89); Saïss, Jimenez, Podence ( Traore 66). Unused substitutes: Hoever, Fabio Silva, Ruddy, Otasowie.
D Coote ( Nottinghamshire).