Aston Villa give Leeds United owners vision of nightmare Elland Road scenario - Graham Smyth's Verdict - YEP 11/3/22

Andrea Radrizzani and his board believe Leeds United will evolve under Jesse Marsch, but if it transpires that Marcelo Bielsa was sacrificed for another method of losing games, Elland Road will be an unforgiving place.

By Graham Smyth

The atmosphere took a turn on Thursday night as Aston Villa took a 3-0 lead and as Bielsa’s name rang out, supporters in the West Stand vented their anger in the direction of the directors’ box.

CEO Angus Kinnear wrote in his programme notes that Marsch was the unanimous choice for a planned summer succession, before the side’s league position led to an acceleration of their plans. He was the man identified by the Elland Road decision makers who could come in and take the club forward, with a style of play that was closely related enough to the one Leeds have played since 2018 that the transition would be smooth.

Sacking Bielsa at this stage of the season was an act Radrizzani felt was necessary to get the results Leeds need to stay up, results he evidently deemed beyond the Argentine.

Kinnear lauded Marsch for his courage in taking the job on early and, to his credit, he accepted a huge level of risk. What was a summer entrance, with the benefit of a rebuild and time to plan for the season, has become a parachute landing into a crisis, not of his creation but now his responsibility. What also goes in his favour is that he did, in short order, make Leeds more defensively robust at Leicester City and replaced a system that was leaking goals with one that was far harder to breach in a positive, albeit losing first step.

What he needed next was real momentum and something to show for his and the team’s efforts – at the very least a draw.

But as Villa tore Leeds apart and killed any hope of taking momentum into the Norwich City game on Sunday, wounds caused by the sudden, dramatic split with Bielsa reopened in the stands. The 3-0 scoreline was not the badly needed salve, but salt.

Leeds United player ratings from a sixth consecutive defeat as Whites are swept aside 3-0 by Aston Villa at Elland Road. #lufc https://t.co/ybhRyCEJ3u

— Leeds United News (@LeedsUnitedYEP) March 10, 2022

It was difficult to see it coming beforehand, and in the opening stages.

Marsch’s one change was and wasn’t a surprise. Mateusz Klich could feel hard done by to drop out, but Adam Forshaw was always going to return in place of someone.

Forshaw formed a defensive-looking midfield alongside Robin Koch, with the intention of keeping Philippe Coutinho under wraps and Leeds made a solid enough start, their only early issues coming when they passed themselves into cul-de-sacs from restarts.

The visitors had a much less comfortable opening period, Tyrone Mings in particular finding himself a target of the Leeds press and struggling to cope.

Daniel James dumped the centre-half on the turf with a shoulder barge, Raphinha forced him into an error and the Elland Road crowd were on his back constantly. The England man had an opportunity to silence them when the ball was drilled to him from a set-piece move, but the shot was blocked and the barracking only grew.

Chances were few and far between at either end, Leeds best moment a Raphinha backheel that slid wide as the offside flag went up.

Turning positive starts and positions of relative comfort into deficits has become a speciality of this side and the Whites once again found themselves behind.

Just like at Leicester it was the right flank that cracked first. Lucas Digne ran in behind, whipped a low cross in for Ollie Watkins and although he went down under Junior Firpo’s challenge, Matt Cash was on hand to send the ball back in to an unmarked Coutinho.

That his shot was heading into Illan Meslier’s hands before taking a deflection off Pascal Struijk made it all the more galling for Marsch’s men, but leaving him free was unforgivable.

Villa needed no second invitation to focus their attention on the right, where Dallas was struggling to keep the ball or stop it from coming back at him at pace. Bypassing the Ulsterman again allowed Danny Ings to draw a foul from Luke Ayling and Douglas Luiz drew a save from Meslier at his near post. That stop made up for the scare the keeper gave his team-mates and the entire stadium a minute earlier, botching a clearance miles out of his goal straight to Watkins and mercifully getting a touch to prevent the striker racing in on goal.

Leeds huffed and puffed, struggling to find men when faced with any kind of pressure and failing to beat the first man with set-pieces. Coutinho, meanwhile, had the cigars out.

The Brazilian pulled to the left to help Digne plough a fruitful furrow and dragged Dallas out of position before flicking it to John McGinn who waltzed into the area and shot for the far corner, Meslier saving brilliantly.

The half-time break ended what had been a torrid night for Rodrigo, who had spent most of his first half breaking up Leeds counter attacks with poor touches and passes. Joe Gelhardt was his replacement.

Leeds took less than a minute to create something, Raphinha sent away by Dallas, cutting in and playing a great ball across the area. Villa survived that, a similar one from James and yet another from Firpo, the game turned on its head as if two completely different sides had emerged from the tunnel.

With Leeds in control and the game being played almost exclusively in the Villa half, Marsch played his ace, sending on Patrick Bamford for the industrious but ineffective Harrison.

Elland Road responded and all the momentum was with Leeds, until Villa scored again.

Dallas was beaten with ease by Ings and his cross found Cash at the back stick, with Firpo nowhere, giving the full-back time to cut inside and beat Meslier to his left. The second goal knocked the wind out of Leeds completely and the third, eight minutes later, flattened them. A free-kick landed at the feet of Mings, he teed-up Calum Chambers and the centre-back curled home off the post.

Simmering anger began to boil over for some in the stands as many others made for the exits. The sad sight of Firpo being stretchered off with what looked like a serious injury only added to the misery.

Marsch sensed fear in the performance and admitted he had underestimated the stress the players were feeling, but must find or create some confidence in three days.

It has to be third time a charm for the new man on Sunday. It just has to.