Leeds United can beat Wolverhampton Wanderers but not the craziness - Yorkshire Post 20/3/23

YOU can try as hard as you like to fight the craziness of Leeds United, but defeating it is easier said than done.

Stuart Rayner

It was laid bare in a 4-2 win full of sub-plots. As if six goals and 33 shots was not enough, Wolverhampton Wanderers had a penalty refused by the video assistant referee and two red cards – one for a substitute who never made it on.

Marcelo Bielsa and Jesse Marsch were exponents of chaos theory, in-your-face styles playing to the Elland Road gallery, but the current coach prefers control. Leeds had it for large parts of a game they led 3-0 only for substitute Adama Traore to take it off them and run away with it.

Once Jack Harrison scored his second goal in as many games, the Whites played as they wanted. As against Brighton and Hove Albion they fell back into a narrow 4-4-1-1.

It gave plenty of space wide to work in but this was Wolves.

For all Luke Ayling had a hard time and Junior Firpo picked up a booking and escaped the penalty shout, giving up chances does not matter as much when it is to a team so awful at converting. Wolves had twice as many as Leeds but it is over a year since a centre-forward scored in the league for them.

When chances threatened, Max Wober generally threw himself in the way or Illan Meslier, on his 100th Premier League appearance, saved.

Firpo took ball and Nelson Semedo in the penalty area but VAR David Coote backed up Michael Salisbury's view that it was not enough of the latter to blow his whistle.

So for a long time, Leeds' approach worked. It might not have gone down all that well at Elland Road, but this was Molineux and needs must. Seven points from his four games, as Gracia has now, is hard to argue with.

Without much threat on the counter-attack, Wolves helped Leeds extend their advantage.

No one followed Ayling around the back of the pack at an early second-half corner, and Jose Sa let his diving header go under him.

Bringing Traore on just before the hour – Wolves' fourth substitute – and switching to three at the back turned the game, but not until it was pushed further out of their reach.

Gracia responded by bringing on Rasmus Kristensen and going with three central defenders himself.

Kristensen's first touch tackled Jonny Otto as he faffed over a Harrison cross. His second found the net.

Three-nil up after 61 minutes under a conservative coach against a team allergic to scoring, what could possibly go wrong?

As any fan will tell you, the Whites just do not do easy.

So Meslier came sprinting out of his area to head clear and Marc Roca gave up the ball. Empty net or not, Jonny did well to volley it in from in the region of 35 yards.

Traore steamed past Firpo with ease every time Wolves got the ball to him and they were at least bright enough to do that a lot.

But when he picked out Pablo Sarabia, Meslier saved brilliantly at point-blank range. He would later deny him from a shot on the run.

Only Pascal Struijk’s introduction – another substitution Gracia got right – calmed things down but by then it was 3-2, Matheus Cunha's shot having deflected in.

That was bad as it got. Jonny rounded off his eventful afternoon by planting his studs into Ayling’s shin having touched the ball first. Salisbury showed a yellow card but on review thought better of it.

Traore lost possession to Crysencio Summerville – another impressive introduction – deep into stoppage time. When he found Rodrigo – also a substitute – he lifted it over Sa as cool as you like.

Traore's shirt was pulled, not anywhere near enough to force the error but how often are such soft moments penalised? Salisbury was back to his screen.

Leeds were glad of the common sense, Wolves frustrated by the inconsistency, none more so than unused substitute Nunes who was red carded, then had to be physically restrained from turning his three-match ban into something worse.

It trampolined Leeds five places up the table, one behind Wolves with a game in hand. More significantly it brought a sense of despair that should help to drag the hosts further into this fight.

It was no exhibition but everything English football should be –passionate, committed, controversial and packed with incident.

This Leeds cannot do boring. Sorry, Javi.