Bielsa warns Leeds they still have many Premier League tests ahead

B o s s M a rc e l o B i e l s a h a s warned Leeds against thinking they have made it in the Premier League after they demolished West Brom 5-0 at The Hawthorns following a first-half four-goal blast.

Ezgjan Alioski, Jack Harrison and Rodrigo scored three in nine minutes after Romaine Sawyers’ comical own goal gave the visitors the lead.

R a p h i n h a’s f i n e s t r i ke made it 5-0 in the second half as Leeds earned their biggest win in the top flight for 17 years.

They rose to 11th in the Premier League table but Bielsa has urged caution after Tuesday’s rampant win.

He said: “We have only been in this league for 16 games and there are still many challenges and many tests we have to pass before we can legitimately say we belong. Every game in this league is a challenge, all the teams have secrets and capacities. There are few games you can think of where there are very few difficulties to resolve.

“We have to keep doing the same and keep doing it over a longer period of time. We have had a lot ofhighsand lows. Only two games ago we had an important defeat and our idea is to play in a consistent manner.

“The team was very efficient – from eight chances we scored five goals and we managed to score five, even if one of the goals was not through our own doing.”

Albion, with just one win this season, collapsed once Sawyers’ own goal gave Leeds the lead after nine minutes.

The midfielder played a blind backpass but failed to notice Sam Johnstone to the left of his goal and the ball rolled into the empty net.

Alioski made it 2-0 when he drove in off the post after 31 minutes and Harrison scored a third five minutes later, turning Darnell Furlong to fire in.

R o d r i go th e n ad d e d a fourth when his shot deflected in off Dara O’Shea just before the break. Leeds produced 662 passes to the Baggies’ 155 and their dominance was underlined when Raphinha curled the ball into the top corner.

Meanwhile, Leeds owner Andrea Radrizzani has defended a club tweet criticising pundit Karen Carney for her claim that they were only promoted to the Premier League “because of Covid”.

Former England international Carney said of Leeds’ 5-0 win at West Brom that Marcelo Bielsa’s side benefited from the coronavirus break in March to win the Sky Bet Championship title. Radrizzani, replying to a tweet which said Leeds should be “ashamed”, wrote: “I take the responsibility of the club tweet."