Man City's Jack Grealish grins at pelters, bad day for Leeds United trio and off-camera moments - YEP 1/5/22
Burnley's dramatic comeback victory and the Elland Road atmosphere during Leeds United's heavy defeat to Manchester City made for a bewildering afternoon of Premier League football.
By Graham Smyth
At full-time you would have been forgiven for thinking Jesse
Marsch's men had pulled off the most unlikely of results, such was the noise
inside the ground.
Marsch felt it was a 'win in many ways' but the table took
on a sinister look and with injuries mounting again, Leeds' season is going to
have the nerviest of finishes.
Here's the YEP take on an eventful day at Elland Road.
Good day
Jack Grealish
The former Aston Villa man isn't well liked by a large
section of the Leeds fanbase, but he enjoys playing at Elland Road. Pelted for
90 minutes with the scrunched up paper that had earlier formed the East Stand's
'Yorkshire' tifo, Grealish responded with a massive smile. Others in the top
flight would have made an issue of it. He wasn't at his absolute best for
Manchester City - Stuart Dallas was giving as good as he got against the
dribbler until injuring himself - but at times he was excellent. The number of
free-kicks he wins might madden opposition supporters but the way he glides
with the ball draws defenders into contact. A highly gifted individual.
The Verdict is in...https://t.co/Tqojfxoebh#lufc
— Leeds United News (@LeedsUnitedYEP) May 1, 2022
Joe Gelhardt
Another cameo off the bench, another case of the youngster
making things happen. His through ball for Daniel James was lovely and deserved
to become an assist. Only a sublime Ederson save denied the teenager a goal.
The evidence that Jesse Marsch needs to give Gelhardt more minutes is mounting
all the time.
Bad day
Stuart Dallas
Dallas leaving the ground on a stretcher, in visible agony,
was an incredibly distressing sight. This season, like last season, he has had
to play through the pain barrier at times and put his body on the line for his
club. His willingness to risk his own health in search of the ball cost him
dearly against Manchester City. The support he received during a personal tragedy
earlier this season further strengthened what was already a special bond
between the player and the Leeds fans, and they will back him to the hilt
through this as well.
Liam Cooper
The captain's afternoon didn't even get started before it
was over. A 'weird sensation' in his knee forced him out of the warm-up and
forced Marsch into a late, late change to the line-up. This season has been a
frustrating one for Cooper and his loss was difficult for Leeds, as it has been
so often.
Rodrigo
Couldn't offer solutions to the problem of keeping
possession in the opposition half. Too many loose touches or giveaways.
Number of the day
17
Manchester City intercepted the ball 17 times, chiefly
because Leeds passed the ball behind or ahead of intended targets far too
often. Sloppiness in possession in City's half of the pitch ruined what could
have key moments in the game for the hosts.
Turning point
The second
Once the first goal went in it became a different game and a
different challenge for Leeds but they responded pretty well to it. The second
goal was a killer, though, because there was no way the Whites were going to
score twice playing the way they were on the ball in the opposition half.
Off-camera moments
Cooper leaving the warm-up with a physio and heading down
the tunnel prompted Marsch to appear on the pitch to give Mateusz Klich the nod
as Leeds reshuffled.
Kalvin Phillips complaining about a lack of a free-kick for
a challenge on Raphinha, then turning to Paul Tierney in disgust as the referee
blew almost immediately for a foul on a visiting player. Phillips did a fair
bit of moaning at the official, whose performance didn't feel consistent throughout,
and he wasn't the only one. The Leeds dugout had lots of back and forth with
fourth official David Coote, which eventually brought a yellow card for Marsch,
with Cameron Toshack on the scene as well. An incident that seemed to bring
things to a head was when a ball was kicked into the stand, the Leeds bench
produced another ball and the hosts tried to take a quick throw-in before the
officials stopped them and demanded the original match ball. Marsch's other
assistant, Franky Schiemer, was incredibly animated after that in his dialogue
with Coote.
Players from both sides found themselves either showered
with or distracted by the paper left behind from the East Stand tifo. Grealish
had it worst but Raphinha didn't take kindly to a paper ball landing by his
feet just as he prepared to take a second half corner. The Brazilian
remonstrated with the crowd before a placatory gesture. At full-time he and his
team-mates, along with Marsch, made it clear just how much they appreciated
what was an incredible level of support from the home fans.