Aaron Bower was at Elland Road, and his verdict has landed. You know the drill: clickity click! Thanks for reading this MBM. Nighty night!
David Moyes isn’t in a particularly good mood, despite the win, and it’s VAR to blame. “I was pleased ... I think you should talk about it, the penalty, there’s not much I can say, you might as well let the referees talk about it ... anyway, a great performance ... I thought we played really well against a good Leeds team ... but until we get the rule sorted out, I don’t think I’m going to be too happy ... it doesn’t really matter what I say, maybe there will be more influential managers who can make a difference ... you’re not discussing football any more, you’re discussing VAR decisions all the time ... you’re better asking me about the football ... Haller should have scored, but the outstanding player was the Leeds goalkeeper, who looks very impressive ... Benrahma did a lot of good things ... his contribution was very good ... set pieces are a big part of football, you try to score from them and not concede from them ... we’re in a good position but no more than that ... this group of players are capable.”
Marcelo Bielsa’s take. “It was a fair defeat ... the type of game it was, it doesn’t surprise us ... we prepared to face a game with the characteristics the game had today, but they were superior ... we know about this problem [conceding from set pieces] and we are doing the necessary to try to correct it ... it is not sufficient but we have to insist so this problem is less influence on our games ... normally we deserve more goals than the ones we score ... there are segments of games where our performances have been positive, and segments where they haven’t.”
Aaron Cresswell speaks. “It’s similar to Manchester United in the amount of chances we created ... more than four or five clear-cut chances ... we couldn’t put the ball in the back of the net ... credit to the lads, we stuck together and got the three points ... set pieces are a massive part of our game and it’s worked again tonight ... we’re not getting complacent, it’s just 12 games in.”
West Ham were good value for their win. They responded magnificently to falling behind to Klich’s early penalty, and were by far the better team thereafter. Both of their goals came from set pieces - nobody in the Premier League has scored more from dead-ball situations than their eight goals - but the manner of their victory shouldn’t be written off as one-dimensional. Fornals was an inch away from finishing a sweeping move, Balbuena hit the post, and Haller, who can’t buy a goal at present, nearly scored with a sensational overhead kick. Leeds were by contrast impotent for the most part, while leaving their usual huge spaces at the back. A few things for Bielsa to worry about. Moyes by contrast will be extremely pleased with the way this season has started.
FULL TIME: Leeds United 1-2 West Ham United
West Ham secure a deserved victory. They could have had a couple more goals. They’re becoming a very decent side under David Moyes, which their rise to fifth place illustrates. Meanwhile Leeds’ poor form at Elland Road continues; they remain in 14th spot.
90 min +4: Erstwhile Leeds winger Snodgrass replaces Fornals.
90 min +3: Fornals thinks about breaking down the right, but applies the brakes, doing the professional thing by hogging the ball awhile.
90 min +2: Noble is booked for clattering Roberts. The free kick leads to a corner, which leads to nothing.
90 min +1: Leeds should indeed save themselves, a few seconds into extra time. Ayling hooks in from the right, finding Rodrigo six yards out. He has to score, but slaps his header straight at a thankful Fabianski.
90 min: Leeds have four extra minutes in which to save themselves.
89 min: A Leeds corner comes to nothing. Fabianski hasn’t been seriously troubled for a long time now.
88 min: Nothing comes of the resulting corner. But West Ham come back at Leeds, Ogbonna twisting down the right and crossing towards Balbuena at the near post. Balbuena flashes a header across Meslier and off the left-hand post. Leeds clear. How on earth are the hosts still in the game?
87 min: Fornals crosses from the right. Haller, his back to goal, executes a lovely overhead kick, whipping it towards the bottom left. Meslier makes another fine save to deny the striker.
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85 min: London Buses dept. Having waited so long for the first, here comes the second West Ham substitution in 60 seconds. Johnson comes on for Bowen.
84 min: Moyes opts to shore things up, replacing Benrahma with Noble. What West Ham have, West Ham will try to hold.
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82 min: Costa, perhaps mindful of his role in that goal, busies himself down the right. Shackleton is in space further forward, but he can’t be found. Leeds have been extremely impotent in attack during this second half.
GOAL! Leeds 1-2 West Ham (Ogbonna 80)
... and with good reason. Cresswell sends an outswinger towards the far post. Ogbonna rises highest and plants a fine header into the top right! Meslier had no chance. That had been coming.
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79 min: West Ham were so close on two separate occasions back there. Right now, if anyone’s going to find a winner, they’re the smart bet. And now Costa has wrestled Cresswell to the ground, just to the left of the box. Another free kick in a dangerous position, and Bielsa looks extremely concerned.
77 min: A free kick for West Ham out on the right. Bowen swings it long. The ball loops over Cooper and Ayling, and finds Balbuena, six yards out. Balbuena crashes a brilliant header goalwards ... only for Meslier to stick out a strong arm and make an absurdly good reaction save! Phillips finishes the job by clearing the rebound with an overhead kick.
75 min: West Ham are this close to taking the lead. Rice strides in from the left and rolls a diagonal pass towards Fornals, who is in a lot of space down the inside right. Cooper slides to intercept, but misses the ball entirely and Fornals finds himself free in the box! He sticks out a leg and guides the ball across Meslier ... but inches wide of the left-hand post. Lovely football from West Ham, though Cooper will be relieved to have got away with one.
74 min: Bowen looks to curl one into the top left from a deep position on the right. It’s always heading high and wide. Meanwhile Bielsa makes his final change of the evening, replacing the inefficient Bamford with Roberts.
72 min: Shackleton sends an absurd backpass back down the Leeds right. Haller is sniffing around, and it forces Meslier to race out of his area to hack clear. The young keeper does really well under intense pressure from the striker. He was put under needless pressure there.
70 min: Ayling has a crack from distance. Fabianski opts to fingertip the low fizzer around his left-hand post. From the resulting corner, Klich batters a long-distance shot towards the bottom right. Fabianski claims without fuss.
68 min: Cooper’s weak headed clearance finds the feet of Benrahma, who tries to dispatch a curler into the top right from 25 yards. Not quite. Always high and wide. Benrahma isn’t having the greatest of games, but he’s not afraid to keep showing, working and trying his best to work Meslier.
67 min: Dallas curls a pass towards Raphinha, who is in acres down the right. Ogbonna does well to block his shot. Raphinha tries to trouble Leeds again, this time crossing for Bamford, who can only flash a header high into the stand behind.
65 min: Benrahma goes direct for goal, trying to fox Meslier with a curler towards the top left, and gets it all wrong. A daft decision, given how much trouble the taller West Ham side are giving Leeds at set pieces ... and how good the Hammers are at them in general.
64 min: Rodrigo clumsily barges into Soucek, who was going nowhere down the left. Suddenly it’s a free kick in a dangerous position, just to the left of the Leeds box.
63 min: Benrahma dribbles infield from the left with purpose. He fashions space and time to shoot from the edge of the D, but larrups his effort miles over the bar.
61 min: Ayling threatens to break down the right but he’s bundled over by Haller. This has become very bitty.
59 min: Dallas wedges down the right, hoping to release Shackleton. Cresswell does extremely well to eyebrow the ball away from the Leeds youngster, who would have been through on goal otherwise.
58 min: The lull continues. It had to happen at some point.
56 min: Leeds slow it down in uncharacteristic fashion, stroking the ball around the midfield, perhaps with a view to taking a quick breather. It’s been the usual full-pelt Bielsa brouhaha, after all.
54 min: Haller does better at the corner, sending a header goalwards from eight yards. Meslier tips over, then deals with the second corner.
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53 min: Bowen busies himself to the right of the Leeds goal. He cuts back from the byline and dinks infield for Haller, whose snapshot twangs off Cooper and out for a corner. The striker should have done better from six yards.
51 min: Rice is allowed to stride down the middle of the park at pace. He goes on, and on, and on. Eventually, on the edge of the box, Phillips toes the ball away from Rice, just as the West Ham midfielder is preparing to shoot. Leeds’ midfield all but disappeared there. A worryingly huge gap in the centre of the park.
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49 min: Benrahma bursts past Phillips and sends Bowen free down the right. Bowen’s cross is easily handled by Meslier. West Ham also appear minded to go for the win. This could be another entertaining end-to-end half.
47 min: Shackleton’s turn to show early. He skates in from the right and whistles a pass towards Bamford on the penalty spot. Bamford, his back to goal, spins and whips a shot wide left. Leeds have obviously been given the what-for by Bielsa during the break.
46 min: Costa is immediately in the thick of it, his clever backheel finding Dallas, just to the left of the D. Dallas crosses long, hoping to find Bamford at the far post, but Fabianski claims.
Leeds get the second half underway. Bielsa has made a double change, hooking his left wing of Alioski and Harrison, and sending on Costa and Shackleton.
HALF-TIME ENTERTAINMENT brought to you by everyone’s favourite Evertonian, Mr Gary Naylor. “You know you’re getting old when you can see (in your mind’s eye) Frank Lampard dancing round that corner flag at Elland Road and remember the long flat journey home. Frank’s son is managing my team’s opponents tomorrow. Enjoy the time as it speeds by.”
HALF TIME: Leeds United 1-1 West Ham United
Leeds have enjoyed the lion’s share of possession; West Ham have had more efforts on goal. The scoreline seems about right.
45 min +1: The corner’s worked back to Ayling, who launches a long-distance effort straight down Fabianski’s throat.
45 min: Klich and Rodrigo combine crisply down the right to earn a corner. There will be plenty of time to take it, as two extra minutes will be added to the half.
44 min: This high-octane half is now petering out.
42 min: Rodrigo tiptoes along the left touchline and curls into the middle. Bamford and Ogbonna challenge for it on the left-hand corner of the six-yard box. The ball brushes Ogbonna’s hand as he clears. Leeds make their claim, but the defender’s arm was right by his body, and VAR isn’t interested.
40 min: Cresswell tugs away at Raphinha, out on the right. Another chance for Leeds to send the ball into the West Ham mixer. Raphinha takes himself. It’s half cleared, but only to Harrison out on the left. A cross is forthcoming this time, and Bamford heads weakly towards Fabianski.
38 min: Rodrigo, Klich and Alioski paint some pretty triangles down the left but go nowhere in particular, eventually running the ball out of play for a goal kick. There had been one or two chances to whip in a cross, something Bamford is now pointing out to them.
36 min: Balbuena bowls Alioski to the ground, out on the left flank. A chance for Leeds to line up on the edge of the box. The free kick’s looped in. Cooper’s header flies towards the top right. As Fabianski flicks it away, most likely for a corner, Harrison arrives on the scene, high-kicking away, and it’s a pressure-releasing foul.
34 min: Alioski is booked for a wholly unnecessary slide into the back of Bowen. He complains vociferously. Full marks for chutzpah.
33 min: Raphinha makes his way down the right and stands one up to the far post. Rodrigo winds his neck back, preparing to meet the ball six yards out. Balbuena eyebrows out for a corner, just in time. Nothing comes of the resulting set piece.
31 min: Benrahma is beginning to influence play. First he drops deep and nearly releases Fornals down the inside right. Then he comes again, opening his body and whipping a low shot towards the bottom right. The ball ripples the side netting. Not sure Meslier was getting to that, had it been on target.
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30 min: West Ham have now scored seven goals at set pieces this season. Only Chelsea, with eight, have more.
28 min: In the centre circle, Benrahma escapes the attention of two Leeds players with a super-smart spin and flick. He bombs into space, but slips a pass down the left to nobody in particular. Leeds go up the other end, Rodrigo turning Ogbonna inside out down the inside-right channel, before slapping a shot straight at Fabianski. This is great fun.
26 min: To belabour the point: West Ham certainly deserve to be level. They’ve been the better side so far on balance. Leeds look extremely open at the back.
GOAL! Leeds 1-1 West Ham (Soucek 24)
Coufal wins a corner off Harrison down the right. Bowen swings it in. It’s Soucek versus Dallas, six yards out, no other Leeds defenders in sight. Soucek rises highest and powers a header goalwards. It flies near Meslier, but the keeper’s going the wrong way, and can’t stick out a strong enough arm to stop it. West Ham deserve this equaliser.
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23 min: Banrahma has been fairly quiet so far, but he comes to life here, dropping a shoulder to sail past two Leeds players as he cuts in from the left. He attempts a curler towards the top right, but Ayling does well to block. Lovely run.
21 min: So having said that, West Ham go up the other end, fashioning a half-chance for Bowen, who hoicks high over the bar from 20 yards. It’s great end-to-end fun, this match, just as we all expected.
20 min: More space for Alioski down the left. This time his cross isn’t so accurate, and easily claimed by Fabianski. Leeds are beginning to impose themselves on West Ham for the first time since the early goal.
18 min: Space for Alioski down the left. He gets his head up and passes his cross to Rodrigo, who lashes a first-time strike wide left from the edge of the box. A decent connection, but always sailing harmlessly off target.
16 min: West Ham continue to dominate the early possession. It’s been a very decent start by David Moyes’ team, with one fairly obvious and reasonably major caveat. “Marcelo Bielsa is a finalist for Fifa’s best men’s coach award. I wonder if the prize is on his bucket list?” Peter Oh there, a man unwilling or perhaps simply unable to let the opportunity of a pun slip by.
14 min: A long pass down the right for Bowen, who is dangerous at the best of times, but is being allowed an absurd amount of space out on his wing. Cooper gets over just in the nick of time to intercept, but Leeds need to get a grip on this. West Ham are finding plenty of joy down their right flank.
12 min: Bowen makes his way down the right and clips one infield for Haller, who spins on the penalty spot and looks for the bottom-right corner. It’s another lame effort, this time with its minimal sting removed by Ayling. Meslier again gathers. But this has been a good response by West Ham to falling behind early doors.
10 min: One corner leads to another, and from the second, Fornals jigs down the right touchline and stands one up for Haller in the middle. Haller, eight yards out, heads down. It’s a dismal effort, with any pace taken off by a deflection off Phillips. An easy gather from Meslier, who should really be picking the ball out of the back of his net.
9 min: Bowen skips past Cooper down the right with the greatest of ease. Bowen makes off towards the byline, and looks for Haller in the middle, but Cooper has recovered well and toes the cross out for a corner.
8 min: Some space for Klich down the right. He curls into the centre, hoping to find Rodrigo, who had got past the last West Ham defender. But Fabianski reads the danger well, and comes off his line to claim.
GOAL! Leeds 1-0 West Ham (Klich 6 pen)
You have to admire the stones on Klich. He carefully passes into the bottom right. Fabianski guessed correctly, but couldn’t reach the perfectly placed spot kick. Most folk would have put their laces through their second chance, wouldn’t they? As fine as the first attempt was foolish.
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5 min: Fabianski and Rice engage the referee in lengthy dialogue, a pantomime solely designed to ramp up the pressure on Klich, who will be feeling it after that farcical effort for sure.
4 min: Klich takes one of the worst penalties you will ever see, trying to be too cute, rolling the ball towards the bottom left at snail’s pace. It’s an absurdly easy snaffle for Fabianski ... but the penalty will be retaken, because VAR shows Fabianski off his line before the kick was taken. Lucky, lucky, lucky Klich, who will get a second bite at the cherry.
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Penalty for Leeds!
2 min: A high-paced if shapeless start ... and then suddenly Cooper slips a pass down the middle to release Bamford, who rounds Fabianski on the right and is brought down. Penalty, and a booking for the keeper, who has been saved by the double-jeopardy rule.
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West Ham get the party started ... but only after all players and staff take the knee. There’s no room for racism.
No pre-match interview with Marcelo Bielsa. Does it matter? Not really. Bielsa is a man operating on a plane far above and beyond mere chat. Anyway, the teams are out, with Leeds in their famous Revie-selected white, while West Ham sport their equally storied claret and blue are in third-choice black for some unnecessary reason. [Aging traditionalist emits loud BAH!] We’ll be off in a minute.
David Moyes, looking determined yet relaxed, speaks to Sky Sports. “The big incentive is to get back to winning ways ... we had a good performance last week for 60, 70 minutes of the game but we have to do it for longer ... we’ve been threatening to use Said [Benrahma] but the team have been playing very well ... we think he’s a player who is creative ... there will be lots of one-v-one duels tonight and we think Said is capable of beating people in those situations, so let’s hope he can show it.”
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One change for Leeds United from the side named at Chelsea. Rodrigo comes in for the injured Robin Koch, with Luke Ayling expected to partner Liam Cooper in the centre of defence.
West Ham, who can go fifth tonight, make one change too, from the side sent out to face Manchester United. Said Benrahma steps up, with Arthur Masuaku missing out altogether following knee surgery.
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The teams
Leeds United: Meslier, Dallas, Ayling, Cooper, Alioski, Phillips, Raphinha, Rodrigo, Klich, Harrison, Bamford.
Subs: Poveda-Ocampo, Roberts, Casilla, Helder Costa, Hernandez, Struijk, Shackleton.
West Ham United: Fabianski, Balbuena, Ogbonna, Cresswell, Coufal, Soucek, Rice, Fornals, Bowen, Benrahma, Haller.
Subs: Lanzini, Snodgrass, Dawson, Noble, Fredericks, Johnson, Randolph.
Referee: Michael Oliver (Northumberland).
Preamble
There’s no point trying to second-guess Leeds United. Going toe-to-toe with Manchester City and Arsenal. Admirable defeats against Liverpool and Chelsea. A second-half performance against Aston Villa that was as good as anything we’ve seen in this Premier League season so far. Consecutive 4-1 spankings against Leicester and Palace. They could win or lose this game by five tonight, or anything in between.
West Ham aren’t exactly predictable either. They were probably better in defeat against Manchester United last weekend than they were in victory over Aston Villa five days before. They’ve held Manchester City at home, trounced Wolves, tested Liverpool away, and recovered from three down with eight minutes to play at Spurs. They’ve also lost at home to Newcastle. They could win or lose this game by five tonight, or anything in between.
Marcelo Bielsa and David Moyes are very different types of manager, but they’re both getting a tune out of their squads. The Hammers are in better form at the minute, while Leeds have gone four without a win at home. Counterbalancing that: West Ham have only won on six of their 49 visits to Leeds, and haven’t won anywhere against the Peacocks in nine. Will ancient history or recent results prevail? We’ll find out after 90 minutes of rollercoaster football. It’s on!
Kick off: 8pm GMT.
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