Leeds must focus on finishing after gaining Premier respect

THEY may have stepped up to a new league but, in many ways, Leeds United’s performance against Wolverhampton Wanderers was very familiar.

The biggest difference was that in the Championship the Whites would probably “only” have won 1- 0. In the Premier League, they lost 1- 0.

The same brilliant football was there, even against a team that looks like a top international side, down to its Portugalesque change strip.

The combination of finesse and fitness was a joy to watch in the first half and some of the little touches from Rodrigo showed the club record signing has already upped the quality.

But when they walked into the dressing room at half- time, they had nothing to show for it. That was surely being hammered into the Wolves players by Nuno Espirito Santo.

Leeds are an extremely attacking side. On Monday, they played a back three yet Luke Ayling attacked as much as had he been at full- back, probably even wing- back. The actual wing- backs, Helder Costa and

Jack Harrison, were wingers, not defenders, by nature.

The paradox of Marcelo Bielsa’s boys is that for all their intentions, they are defensively solid without scoring enough.

In the Championship that often meant battering teams but winning much more narrowly. Facing better defending now, they may not always be able to create the number of chances they need to put teams away.

As the Whites played out thrilling 4- 3s in the season’s opening weeks – one narrowly lost to Liverpool, one won more convincingly than the scoreline against Fulham suggested – even the coach admitted his side’s “efficiency” in front of goal was a blip. Patrick Bamford, who many fretted about as the team stepped up, scored in both, and the next game against Sheffield United. Since Fulham, results have gone binary: 1- 0, 1- 1, 0- 1.

Against Wolves, who themselves enjoy hogging possession, Leeds had 68 per cent of it, even with the secondhalf balance shifting to the away side. The net result, though, was two unconverted shots on target.

“When you are playing teams like this you’ve got to capitalise when you’re on top,” reflected Stuart Dallas.

The quality of Leeds’s football should give them the confidence to know they cannot just survive in the Premier League but thrive. But it has also earned respect from opponents they could do without out. Leeds have never been a club that needed to be loved – quite the opposite.

The egos – and brilliance – of Liverpool and Manchester City will not allow them to shut down games against Leeds. These are matches the Whites can enjoy.

Wolves are a seriously good team, too, last season’s Europa

League quarter- finalists, but even they had the humility to sit back at Elland Road and wait for their opportunity.

“It’s very difficult to play against Leeds, it’s an amazing team,” said Nuno. It was, he said, a test of his team’s character.

Leeds will have to cope without the influence of midfielder Kalvin Phillips, however, for up to six weeks after injuring his shoulder on Monday.

The Leeds- born England international – who has started all five of Leeds’s Premier League games this season – does not require surgery.