Four wins in a row under Marcelo Bielsa spark early hopes of promotion for Leeds
It is an insignificant footnote for Marcelo Bielsa, but Leeds United’s progress under their new head coach can be measured by the way he has already achieved a feat that was beyond Don Revie and all his other predecessors at Elland Road.
Goals from Luke Ayling and Kemar Roofe sealed a 2-0 victory that makes the Argentine the first man to win his first four games in charge of a team that now threatens to end a Premier League exile stretching back to 2004.
“It’s the same as winning four games that are not in a row,” the Argentine said. But, while it is true one of those four wins was in a midweek cup tie against Bolton, Championship victories against Stoke and at Derby had already signalled promotion potential that this performance only underlined.
Despite balancing on a blue upturned bucket outside the dugout, Bielsa was sitting comfortably for most of the 90 minutes, although Rotherham did briefly threaten Leeds’s stranglehold on the game and the division’s only 100 per cent record for a brief spell in the first half.
“We deserved to win, but we could have ended the first half conceding goals,” Bielsa said. “Rotherham had three clear moments when they could have scored because of mistakes we made when we built from the back.”
Ryan Williams, a lively influence down the left, should have put the visitors ahead in the 25th minute when Liam Cooper’s loose pass across the face of his goal presented the Australian with a chance that was blocked by goalkeeper Bailey Peacock-Farrell.
Three minutes later, Jon Taylor struck a post from nearly 30 yards, and Matthew Palmer threatened Leeds again with a shot that just cleared the bar. It was a hugely encouraging spell for Rotherham, but they were soon back on the defensive as the home side created chances for Mateusz Klich and Gaetano Berardi before the interval.
The suspicion that Rotherham’s best hope of avoiding their tenth successive defeat in a Yorkshire derby had vanished when they were unable to take those earlier chances was confirmed as they went behind within four minutes of the restart.
The goal was an untidy affair stemming from a Barry Douglas corner that reached Cooper at the far post. His shot was blocked by keeper Marek Rodak, Roofe miskicked the rebound across goal before Ayling claimed his first goal for the club with a diving header.
A goalline clearance by Richard Wood denied Samuel Saiz in the 68th minute but Leeds’s second goal was delayed only four minutes.
Roofe, who scored twice in their previous league game at Derby, claimed it after gliding past Zak Vyner and bemusing Rodak by curling a shot inside the far corner when a cross appeared the likelier option.
Rotherham emerged from their defensive shell just once when Peacock-Farrell saved impressively from sub Ryan Manning in the 81st minute, but head coach Paul Warne was still pleased with his side. “Most people would have had us down for a good drubbing, so it’s pleasing we went toe-to-toe with Leeds,” he said.
