Leeds United were hanging on to their automatic promotion place by the thinnest of skins of their teeth and had seen a substantial gap to 3rd place whittled down to just two goals of goal difference with Fulham closing the gap and breathing right down their necks.
Bad form and equally bad performances had seen the Whites suffer on the pitch and left some of their fans seething on the terraces and social media. However, the heavens aligned yesterday for the Whites in that they were the only one of the top seven sides to win yesterday.
What a win it was as well! For the second game running, Leeds outshone their opponents and nullified whatever threat they brought to the table. Brentford were dominated in midweek but what was handed out to Lee Johnson’s side topped that. Starved of possession, the Robins were their own worst enemy as they simply sat back and gave United the ‘come on’.
That invitation was gladly accepted and the 1-0 scoreline was fair in terms of the three points but was not a representation of just how in charge Leeds United were.
Three Things Learned from Leeds United’s dominant win over Bristol City
1. Welcome back Kalvin Philips (pt 2): The Yorkshire Pirlo was back for his second game since his three-game red card suspension. Since he has been back, what with Ben White able to drop back into his more accustomed centre-back role, Leeds have looked a more solid proposition at the back. Not only that, Phillips’ range of passing means that he becomes the fulcrum to many of the Whites attacking moves. Welcome back Kalvin, welcome back.
2. 1-0 wins can be dominant batterings: Make no bones about it, it was only 1-0 but it was as dominant a 1-0 win as you could have wished to see. Leeds hit the bar twice, ran at Bristol City almost at will and were helped by the Robins gameplan which seemed to invite the Whites rampant hordes to them. That was as bad a mistake as you could imagine with Leeds players seemingly lining up to take pot-shots at their leisure. Better finishing would have seen a final result that could easily have been four or more goals better than it was.
3. Time to take advantage – 13 ‘cup finals’: As much as I hate the phrase, Leeds United do have ’13 cup finals’ left to play in this bonkers Sky Bet Championship season. What they need to do, what they must accomplish is simplicity itself – they need to kick on. The rut that they were in seems to have been climbed out of but they mustn’t rest on their laurels. Of the top-six clubs, the Whites have, on paper anyway, the seemingly easiest run-ib to the end of the season. They only have Fulham to play who are in the top-six whilst the other teams will be scrapping it out against more of those around them. Time to take advantage – I’d sacrifice a string of 1-0 wins for a sudden goal rush any time.
