Sheffield Utd     1 (Meslier og 14)                         

Leeds United    3 (Firpo 72, Tanaka 89, Piroe 90)

 

24th ​February, 2025, EFL Championship.

29,702.

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I don’t know how many times we have been able to summarize a Leeds game this season with the simple expression “Wow!” but this was certainly another one. Against what many consider to be the second best side in the Championship, we started very slowly, or maybe it was just that the Blades started very well, it’s always hard to tell. But there is no doubt the home side bossed the opening 25 minutes. Leeds confidence during that spell wouldn’t have been helped by a very nervy and uncertain looking display from Illan Meslier either. However, after that opening period, Leeds gradually got into their normal, confident stride and, by the end, it was another dominant Leeds United performance backed up by overwhelming superior stats.

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It was a loud and raucous opening to this game, the Leeds fans packed into the Bramall Lane End like sardines – at least it was near me! Annoyingly I was right behind the net too, having to stretch to see either over or under the crossbar, I hate that spot in a ground. The home side were buoyed by plenty of their own support too and their hopes were rising as early as the 10th minute when a left wing corner caused chaos in the Leeds box. Meslier, admittedly with an arm holding him down, flapped at the ball, missed it and then watched as a header bounced down towards his net. Thankfully, Ilia Gruev is one quick-thinking player and he threw himself at the ball to head it off the line. Four minutes later and the stadium erupted.

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A poor ball down the Leeds right was cleverly intercepted and the Blades swept forward.  Brereton-Diaz clipped the ball across from the left with his right foot and Callum O’Hare acrobatically back-headed the ball at goal. I think, to his credit, Meslier got a touch to just nudge it onto the crossbar. It bounced down and Campbell was first to try to head it home, but only managed to nod it onto the inside of the right post. Meslier, scrambling along his line, somehow could only sweep the ball over the line with his trailing right arm. I don’t want to add to the criticism of Meslier unnecessarily but again, my overriding impression was that he just doesn’t react quickly enough in moments like this, I do wonder if it’s purely reaction training he needs more than anything. However, let’s not forget he has been faultless and rock solid since his Hull nightmare.

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Meslier looked uncertain moments later when he flapped at a long throw-in from the left. This time it was eventually hacked away to safety. That was a first twenty minutes to forget for Leeds, a great start for the home side and a 1 – 0 lead now to protect. We immediately started to see them slow the game down, stay down for ages after any challenge and generally perform all those typical sh**house tactics we’ve seen many times before. Perhaps that was their downfall as Leeds began to assert themselves.

Firpo got behind them on the left and crossed low but it was cut out, Dan James started to do his thing on the right and he almost found Solomon at the back post with a left foot cross. There were only odd moments for the Blades now, and none particularly cutting. Firpo, already having an outstanding game all over the pitch, stretched to deny O’Hare an opportunity in front of goal. Solomon then got behind them at the other end, cut inside and fired straight at Cooper in the home goal. Leeds were now dominating the play and ended the half with a corner that came to nothing.

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The second half was ten minutes old when Meslier maybe had a game-changing moment for the better as he raced out to drop on the ball at the feet of Campbell; reactions finally sharpened. It was pretty much the last we saw of the Blades as a cutting edge. Leeds had their regular penalty appeal denied in the 54th minute as Dan James appeared to be charged down from behind; nothing doing according to referee David Webb. It felt, much as it did against Sunderland in a similar match-phase, as if we needed something different and so it was no surprise to see Joe Rothwell and Mateo Joseph come on just before the hour mark; Aaronson and Gruev made way. I like having Rothwell on the pitch, his first instinct is always to push forward, probing. Almost immediately our chances started to get bigger and the first big one fell to Mateo Joseph. A right wing corner delivered by Rothwell (Solomon had been taking them until now with no more success than Gruev did last Monday) caused chaos, with the ball eventually bouncing down in front of MJ. Once again, he just didn’t have the composure or technique needed and he fired the bouncing ball over the top from no more than 12 yards out. I don’t know why the lad can’t find his touch for us but he’s in the last chance saloon for my money.

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We almost got level in the 72nd minute when more great work by Dan James ended with a little clipped cross to, of all people, Junior Firpo in the centre forward slot! This time Junior was two inches too short and his stretching header flew over. But, minutes later, super-striker Firpo was there again, this time meeting an inch perfect Dan James cross to power a header past Cooper and into the corner of the net. Now it really felt like the Sunderland game, on came Willy Gnonto to try to help us recreate the same ending, he replaced Solomon. Meslier still had to be alert and he carefully watched a scuffed shot come through a crowd of players following a Sheffield corner but Mes now looked to be over his jitters. Then, in the 89th minute, we grabbed an all-important 2nd goal and it was that man Firpo, in that centre forward slot again, who got a useful assist.

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It was another Rothwell corner on the right, swung in towards Struijk and Firpo, jumping together in the middle. It was Firpo who got his head to it, firmly nodding it down into the turf at the back post. There was Ao Tanaka, the tiger himself, lurking ready to apply a lovely little header into the roof of the net over the defenders on the line. Ao is one cool dude as we’ve seen before this close to goal.

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Of course it got even better just seconds later when Dan James scooted down the right wing again and cut inside before touching the ball to Joel Piroe. One touch and Piroe simply creamed the ball inside the right post, Cooper’s left hand getting to it but his wrist no match for the power of the shot.

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So, for 25 minutes, the Blades did look good and we took all that time to finally get to grips with the game but, once we did, there was no stopping us and, as I’ve said before, like every league game this season, we eventually dominated this one too. We all know that injuries or a mistake or a bad referee call could still derail us in maybe one or two games somewhere further down the line, but this Leeds team appears to have all the bases covered and every player is both individually and collectively supreme at this level. In every game, our match-winners are different players, everyone is playing a full and vital part, we have quality in every position. We’re not relying on help from the opposition either, almost all of our goals are so well-crafted, all our own work, we don’t need mistakes to benefit from. It is hard to see how misfortune in one or even two games will halt us now. I know it’s hard for Leeds fans to believe yet, but for 34 games now almost nothing has gone wrong and, playing as we are, you could easily see us sailing through the remaining games unbeaten. For now though let’s not count those chickens, let’s focus on Saturday and what would normally be a tricky game against a resurgent Albion.