LEEDS ARE ON EASY STREET
Harrison steals the show in classy win
THE l ast t i me Leeds United completed a league double over Sheffield United, in 1992, it was on the day they were crowned league champions.
Marcelo Bielsa’s team are unlikely to hit similar heights but it says a lot about Sheffield United’s demise that they are further behind Leeds today (28 points) than when Howard Wilkinson’s side were the best in England.
Although yesterday’s final scoreline looked close, it was painfully one-sided. Blades goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale was his side’s busiest player and the visitors’ itors’ goal from Ben Osborn orn came from their only y shot on target.
To sum up their woes, 38- year- old Phil Jagielka even gifted the winning goal when he turned Jack Harrison’s cross into his own net for his sevventh Premier League gue own goal — leaving g him second on the unwanted list behind Richard Dunne.
As for Leeds, Brazilian winger Raphinha was brilliant and nobody was more effective than Harrison, who scored the first and created the second. He has been candid about using a sports psychologist to help him escape a dip in form. ‘It is a change of perspective tive,’ he explained. ‘W ‘When you go through a little rough patch y you have to try a few alternative solutions. I’ d recommend it to anyone .’ Leeds players w wore shirts in the w warm- up to honour 19 1970s hero Peter Lorim Lorimer, who died last month. L Lorimer would have loved the energy and style of the current side even it meant further heartbreak for Sheffield’s interim manager Paul Heckingbottom, once briefly in charge at Elland Road and still seeking his first win following the departure of Chris Wilder.
Leeds dominated from the first whistle and Ramsdale had already saved well from Kalvin Phillips and Stuart Dallas before the breakthrough after 12 minutes.
The visitors lost possession on the halfway line and had no response to a swift Leeds break that saw Tyler Roberts release Raphinha down the right. The Brazilian skipped past George Baldock, who was too worried about conceding a penalty to make a challenge, and the pull-back was tapped in by Harrison for his seventh goal of the season.
And Harrison was denied by Ramsdale when the keeper brilliantly narrowed the angle to save.
It was in the build-up to that move after 40 minutes that a controversial concussion incident occurred i nvolving Sheffield wing- back Baldock.
His t wo- footed challenge on Roberts could have seen him sent off but the impact of their collision, Roberts’s knee catching Baldock in the face, left the Blades player seriously groggy.
He was given concussion tests on the pitch and by the touchline before being allowed to continue. But five minutes later he was replaced by Ethan Ampadu after suffering blurred vision.
Heckingbottom later insisted protocols had been followed: ‘ They checked him on the pitch and went through the checklist and if the player passes that, they assess him on the side of the pitch,’ he said. ‘He then started to not feel great. As soon as George reported any symptoms we had to take him off.
‘We need to be led by the medics on things like that. We have to abide by further concussion protocols now so we’ll know more later.’
The visitors suffered another scare in the second half when Jayden Bogle was caught in the mouth by Ezgjan Alioski and was replaced by Rhian Brewster.
Sheffield United’s equaliser in injury time at the end of the first half was unexpected and only their second goal in seven games. David McGoldrick’s clever touch found Oli McBurnie on the right of the area. His drilled shot deflected off the back of Phillips and ran to Osborn at the far post. His tap-in was cleared by Luke Ayling but the ball had crossed the goal-line.
Any sense of injustice felt by Leeds evaporated four minutes into the second half. Another flowing move allowed Harrison to centre and Jagielka did Raphinha’s job for him. Raphinha had another shot blocked as he tried to make it 3-1, but it wasn’t a good afternoon for front man Patrick Bamford, who was replaced after 65 minutes.
Blades substitute Oliver Burke had a sight of goal late on but shot wide and Heckingbottom admitted: ‘The effort and the fight were there but we lacked quality.
‘There wasn’t too much Jags could do for the winner. Going at pace towards your own goal, you leave a tap-in if you don’t commit.’
2 At 38 years and 229 days, Phil Jagielka is the 2nd-oldest PL player to score an own goal, after Stuart Pearce.