Coventry 0-2 Leeds: Frank Lampard is dealt first home defeat as Sky Blues boss — Mail 5/2/25
Coventry 0-2 Leeds: Frank Lampard is dealt first home defeat as Sky Blues boss - as visitors go five points clear in the Championship table
Leeds cruised to a 2-0 victory over Coventry City in their
clash on Wednesday
Joel Piroe and Jayden Bogle found the back of the net for
the visitors
By AADAM PATEL
This was meant to be a tough ask for Leeds United.
A trip to the in-form side of the Championship in Coventry
City and a ground that Frank Lampard was turning into something of a fortress.
The Coventry boss was aiming to become the first Sky Blues
manager to go unbeaten in his first seven home games since Jimmy Hill in
1961-62.
Instead, his side capitulated when the league leaders came
to town with Daniel Farke’s men ruthlessly putting this game to bed in the
opening half an hour.
Leeds had Coventry’s hospitality to thank with mistakes
leading to the two goals from Joel Piroe and Jayden Bogle. That it only
finished two-nil was due to Leeds's wastefulness after.
Like Saturday, it could have been seven.
Nevertheless, victory saw them go five points clear at the
top and with 15 games to go, Leeds are starting to have breathing space at the
summit.
They are unbeaten since November and undoubtedly the most
complete side in the division.
Whereas all the other promotion contenders strengthened in
the January window, Leeds didn’t with Farke insisting that he trusted his
group. The dominance of this performance backed up that statement.
It was here last April where their late season collapse
which cost them automatic promotion, started. This time around, Leeds are
looking formidable.
Fresh off the back of their biggest league win in over half
a century, Farke made just the one change for Leeds with Ilia Gruev coming in
for Joe Rothwell.
For Coventry, Lampard named an unchanged side from their win
at Swansea. A victory that made it four wins on the trot and saw them move to
within three points off the play-offs.
In just over two months since replacing Mark Robins, Lampard
has taken them from relegation contenders to promotion hopefuls but from the
outset, this was a timely reminder of the quality at the top of the division.
Leeds dominated possession against a passive Coventry
outfit, with 86 percent of the ball in the opening ten minutes and in the 17th
minute, they broke the deadlock.
Ellis Simms carelessly gave the ball away in his own half
and Manor Solomon teed up Piroe, who finished wonderfully past Coventry keeper
Oliver Dovin for his 13th goal of the season.
Earlier this week, Leeds rebuffed a £10M offer for Piroe
from Real Betis with Farke a fond admirer of the Dutchman, who is just two
goals behind Championship top scorer Borja Sainz.
From the packed out away end, the chants of ‘No Piroe, no
party’ began.
Ten minutes later, another Coventry mistake saw Leeds double
their advantage.
Bogle ran through the Coventry defence from around the
halfway line and just when it looked like his touch was too heavy, Dovin
spilled the ball in the box and Bogle slotted into an empty net.
Before last night, Farke had never beaten Lampard in four
games but his side should have been four up by the break.
First, Daniel James wasted a glorious opportunity when he
was through on goal before Piroe blazed over after he was played in by Solomon.
Lampard rolled the dice, sending on Tatsuhiro Sakamoto at
half-time and new signing Matt Grimes just after the hour mark.
But bar a good stop by Illan Meslier to deny Simms’s header,
they failed to get back in the game as Leeds held on comfortably for a sixth
consecutive clean sheet.