Leeds United U23s lost to Chelsea in a boring way and Lewis Baker was there - The Square Ball 19/11/21
BATE AGAINST BAKER
Written by Moscowhite • Daniel Chapman
Perusing the teamsheet before this game, Tyler Roberts’
haters fumed that he’s now even keeping Joffy Gelhardt on the bench in the
Under-23s, not to mention forcing new Alan Smith, Max Dean, out to the wing
where Smith went in the end. Otherwise all quite normal, no Junior Firpo
picking up the minutes Marcelo Bielsa says he needs, no Charlie Cresswell
because presumably too important to the first team, Sam Greenwood playing after
captaining England Under-20s and getting pushed up to the Under-21s and getting
a goal, and Chelsea, let’s look at Chelsea — oh my actual god is that really
Lewis Baker!?
Yes it actually is our former loanee Lewis Baker himself,
now aged 26, venerable by default in Chelsea’s Under-23s, continuing his career
mission of mocking all those 5,000 word analytical essays from five years ago
when he was scoring free-kicks with either foot for Vitesse. After Marcelo
Bielsa bewildered everyone by lamenting the Luton Pirlo’s decision to leave
Leeds halfway through his loan, Baker finished that season with Reading, then
did a year in the Bundesliga with Fortuna Düsseldorf (eight games) and a year
in Turkey with Caleb Ekuban at Trabzonspor. Now he’s back at Chelsea with just
a decade or so left on his contract.
(To complete the record of our summer 2018 Chelsea
contingent, Jamal Blackman, now 28, moved to Los Angeles FC in MLS this
September, where he’s played eight games, but where head coach Bob Bradley is
now leaving. 24-year-old Izzy Brown’s Chelsea contract expired this summer,
when he signed for Preston, talked about getting into the England squad then
ruptured his achilles. Pat Bamford plays for Leeds United Football Club,
England and the ozone layer.)
Baker got an assist and a goal here but without much effort.
Chelsea’s first half goals defy description because they were so boring.
Defender Xavier Mbuyamba headed in a corner taken by Lewis Hall. Then he headed
in Baker’s free-kick. Whatever, he’s six foot five, you can’t make me care. It
was more interesting when Kristoffer Klaesson executed a penalty box dummy to
nobody except the devil on his shoulder telling him to let Chelsea score, but
his guardian angel helped him back to tackle before Chelsea could tap the ball
in.
In the first half Chelsea dominated the ball and dominated
their old boy Lewis Bate, to make sure he couldn’t get that ball, meaning more
responsibility for the midfielder next to him, Archie Gray. The drawback there
was Gray’s age, fifteen years old, but just when you’re worrying about him at
this level — he’s eleven years younger than Lewis Baker and still at school —
he’ll hold off a defender, turn him and skill a backheel towards the corner
flag for Amari Miller’s overlapping run. Gray won the penalty that got Leeds
back into it just before half-time. Running from deep as a surprise recipient
of Leo Hjelde’s through ball Gray got blocked off, and Roberts sent the goalie
the wrong way, rolling the pen in low.
Half two: Greenwood and Roberts went off, Joffy and Charlie
Allen came on, and another Chelsea Xavier, Simons, ran unchallenged through the
middle and fired over the bar, a kind gesture. A minute later Nohan Kenneh was
beaten by right-back Brodi Hughes who turned up in attack, turned inside, aimed
his shot at the top corner, and Klaesson did a really good diving save.
Leeds got more into the half near its halfway point, Bate
sliding a pass down the channel for Miller, whose shot didn’t quite make it, so
Gelhardt made the best of things by sending a defender airborne and getting a
yellow card. Miller was the main wide attacker, because Dean on the other wing
is a striker, but Max made his case by running in off the right with the ball
and shooting at the keeper. His wishes came true when Gelhardt’s
planned-looking half-hour ended and Sean McGurk subbed the sub, went to the
wing, and Mad Max went to no.9. The pair of them set about the Chelsea defence
with great anger and diligence, and overhit passes. Lewis Bate started a
counter with a tackle in midfield, but McGurk couldn’t get the right weight for
Dean into the box, or then for Kris Moore to the byline.