Leeds United 2 Sheffield United 0: Whites lay down a marker with dominant Yorkshire derby win — Yorkshire Post 18/10/24

By Stuart Rayner

If Leeds United and Sheffield United are to repeat their Championship promotion struggle of 2019, the Whites laid down a real marker at Elland Road on Friday night.

They might only have won 2-0 but both sets of players knew the reality of the situation, this has been as comprehensive as such a narrow scoreline can be.

If you were nit-picking you would say it was yet another reminder that this Leeds team needs to be more ruthless but for anyone who supports them, it was not a night for nit-picking.

It leaves the Yorkshire rivals level on points with Championship leaders Sunderland, who play at Hull City on Sunday. Leeds are only second on goal scored.

The Blades went into the game having not conceded a league goal in 606 minutes of football, or lost all season, but they could not live with a Leeds side who can sometimes struggle at Elland Road against teams as defensive as they forced the Blades to be, but who passed the ball with a speed seldom seen there, and a brightness of mind to boot.

Bar a couple of minutes before Pascal Struijk broke the deadlock, Leeds dictated throughout, showing more and more signs as the first half went on that they were going to crack the puzzle. It took them 68 minutes and a corner of all things, but they eventually did.

Chris Wilder's surprise pre-match decisions quickly made sense. Rhys Norrington-Davies came in at left-back with Harrison Burrows pushed onto the left wing of the Blades' now usual 4-2-3-1. Harry Souttar and Anel Ahmdehodzic played the other way round to normal at centre-back.

But with Jayden Bogle playing high up the pitch as ever and Willy Gnonto coming inside, it very quickly became a back three, Norrington-Davies coming inside and making Souttar the middle centre-back.

At the start, Sheffield United looked very happy to play as an away side would, but the longer it went on and the less of a say they had in the matter, the more uncomfortable they must have become.

Leeds dominated possession from the start but importantly the speed of their passing moved through the gears to try to find a way through.

For all the possession Leeds had, they only had six first-half shots, most of them towards its end.

It was midway through the opening period before Ahmedhodzic was forced into the first really important challenge of the night for the visitors, to stop Gnonto breaking through.

But a minute later Junior Firpo glided past his man far too easily after being released by a perceptive switch by Ao Tanaka.

Then it was Joe Rothwell, making a surging run from midfield. He fed Largie Ramazani, but the angle was against the Leeds forward.

After 27 minutes Ramazani did make goalkeeper Michael Cooper earn his money, tipping his shot onto a past after Brenden Aaronson had opened things up with a lovely flick around the corner.

Cooper shanked a 40th-minute kick, making work for himself as he had to touch Aaronson's shot behind as he backpedalled.

The dizzying effect on the visitors was spelt out when Kieffer Moore touched a ball back to Gnonto so bewilderingly, he instantly put his head in his hands. Gnonto's run was smothered, the ball ping-ponging onto Norrington-Davies' hand far too close for the referee to pay much attention to the penalty appeals, not that he could probably see much of it anyway.

Aaronson cushioned a volley over from Firpo's cross at the end of the half. There was a bit more behind the one which started the second half but like Joel Piroe's shot soon after, it comfortably cleared the crossbar. When Firpo had the chance to shoot, he miskicked.

It was clear the Blades needed to change something and their triple substitution on the hour instantly did that. Burrows had a shot blocked after Joe Rodon's heavy touch turned a hopeful long ball into a chance and a poor header from the centre-back presented Oliver Arblaster with a strike that flicked inches wide off Tanaka.

But as is often the way, one team opening up let the other in.

Gnonto was about to be substituted as he won a 68th-minute corner. Off the field, he was still trotting back to the dugout when Rothwell played it just behind Struijk, who smashed the bouncing ball in.

"Do, do do, we scored from a corner!" sang the scarcely-believing home fans before changing the lyrics into something altogether less polite about Wilder.

It took until the 90th minute to put the faint possibility of a smash-and-grab result to bed.

The introduction of Mateo Joseph pushed Piroe deeper and from there he threaded the pass the youngster held Sydie Peck off to coolly slot the ball home for only his second goal of the season.

It was a night to take great confidence from for the ecstatic hosts, one to learn the lessons of for the well-beaten visitors.

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