Thanks for reading and for your emails and tweets. Nick Ames’s report from the London Stadium has landed, please enjoy.
You can also read about Chelsea’s 2-0 win over Everton. Two big results in the race for the top four.
Until next time, bye!
“Leeds played excellently tonight,” emails Giancarlo M. Sandoval. “They’ve definitely been one of the teams that are making this season brighter. Passing, pace, never stop running. Even when they lose, they are fun. Nonetheless, good job from West Ham tonight! But points aren’t everything.”
That’s true, and especially so for a team that isn’t going to qualify for Europe or be relegated. Fifteen attempts in the second half alone though! Patrick Bamford was particularly culpable, he had a couple of glorious chances to score.
Leeds played well but are far too soft from set-pieces. There was a period at the end of the first half where it looked like they were going to concede every time the ball came into the box.
Full-time: West Ham 2-0 Leeds
West Ham up to fifth!
90+3 min: This has been an excellent West Ham performance. All hail the Moyesiah.
90 min: Three minutes added on. West Ham looking comfortable.
90 min: Phillips does brilliantly to beat Fornals to the ball in midfield before trying his luck from 35 yards. Not a chance, as it trickles 10 yards wide. Wonder if Fabianski fancied one of these …
Oh look it’s Dean Henderson again.
— The Second Tier (@secondtierpod) March 5, 2021
He gets 10/10 for the pure sarcasm of it.pic.twitter.com/bmlyNyUJwC
88 min: Johnson finally does come on for Lingard, who has looked a little weary of late, but has again been impressive, winning and scoring (from) the penalty.
86 min: Dawson clears off the line! Dallas plays a lovely floated ball out to Raphinha, who crosses low first time between the onrushing attackers and Fabianski. The ball rolls all the way through towards the back post, where it hits Coufal unknowingly, rolls towards the line before Dawson clears, with inches to spare! It remains 2-0!
84 min: Ben Johnson, nephew of Paul Parker, has been threatening to come on for West Ham for about five minutes but seems to be stuck in the huge mauve hinterland between dugout and pitch and seems a bit lost.
82 min: Leeds are pushing for a goal, but it looks like their race is run. West Ham keeping their shape nicely, for now.
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79 min: Bielsa’s face right now. Ha.
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77 min: Another golden chance for Bamford! This one is an absolute sitter. Raphinha finds some space on the right hand side of the box, cuts the ball back to Bamford on the six-yard box, but the striker skews his shot waaaaaaay over the bar with his weaker right foot. Ouch. That’s two wonderful chances for Bamford tonight, missed.
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75 min: Llorente, who does an excellent impersonation of Bamford back there with that haircut, makes a clumsy challenge on Soucek, who has been a bit in the wars tonight. Lingard, Cresswell and Rice all want to take it but it’s the captain who pulls rank before lashing an effort from 22 yards well wide.
72 min: West Ham make their first change of the night and it’s pretty much a straight swap: Bowen for Benrahma, who has been lively.
70 min: Here comes one of those fast West Ham breaks, with Lingard carrying the ball out on the right. It is actually four on three at the back but Lingard’s long pass towards Antonio is intercepted by Cooper and the ball breaks kindly to Meslier. A let-off there. But then again, Leeds have to go for it now.
68 min: Leeds are starting to throw men forward, so there is room for West Ham on the counter-attack.
66 min: An email from Dave Harris.
“The last Monday night game between these two at West Ham was almost 23 years ago, 3-0 to the Irons, and a raucous, if slightly nervy, trip back north for this then Leeds-based Hammer. It was also when the Leeds plane crashed on landing; by all accounts, David O’Leary was an absolute hero, making sure the plane was empty before he left himself. Here’s hoping for a similar result for tonight’s game, and that Leeds have a safe trip back.”
O’Leary was indeed a hero. You can read all about the near-miss here, but here what what the then assistant manager had to say.
“We were going down the runway,” Mr O’Leary explained. “As we lifted off, a fire started in the engine and then there was an explosion. At that stage we had reached about 200 feet and suddenly flame started to shoot out of the right engine. The plane was like a roller coaster. It went up, then down and hit the deck.”
Of his own role in the emergency, Mr O’Leary was modest. “There was smoke and a strong smell of fuel when we stopped and I opened the emergency door. The pilot did a brilliant job. He had to take a very quick decision and he made exactly the right choice. We were very, very lucky and thank God everyone got out OK.”
However, the chairman of Leeds United, Mr Peter Risdale, praised Mr O’Leary for his quick reactions. “David O’Leary was in the opposite seat to me by an emergency exit. David opened it very, very quickly and started getting everybody out. David was superb,” he said.
64 min: Chance for Leeds! Good work by Alioski down the left, he cuts the ball back to Raphinha on the penalty spot, but the Brazilian’s powerful drive is tipped over by Fabianski! It was a good height for the West Ham keeper but the shot was so powerful, he did well just to get anything on it.
Two penalty shout for West Ham!
63 min: Leeds defend the free-kick at the expense of a corner, no Premier League team has conceded more from set pieces this season. The ball breaks to Rice on the penalty spot, he swings a boot but Cooper blocks. It does touch the defender’s elbow but it was tight to his body and would have been very harsh. Again the ball breaks to Rice who shoots again! The ball is deflected this time before hitting Phillips! Ooooooo. The ball was probably going in if it didn’t hit the arm of Phillips, who admittedly didn’t know anything about it. But you’ve seen them given. The fact that it was deflected onto Phillips’s arm has probably saved him.
62 min: The game is becoming bitty, which suits West Ham. Phillips, who is already on a yellow card, brings down Benrahma. Good position for Cresswell to swing this one in.
60 min: Leeds make their final change on the hour mark: Rodrigo for Roberts.
58 min: Two strong challenges by Cooper on Lingard, then Soucek. A foul is given for the second one, although I struggle to see why. Strong but fair.
55 min: In all that excitement, I forgot to tell you about a yellow card for Phillips, who went in high on Fornals, even if he did win the ball.
53 min: Fornals hits the bar from a full 30 yards out! Oooooof, so nearly a magnificent goal! From yet another West Ham corner, which is well defended by Raphinha at the near post, the ball bounds out to Fornals, who takes a touch and laces a dipping shot over Meslier and onto the bar! What a game we have here!
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51 min: Great save by Fabianski! Raphinha goes for the acrobatic bicycle kick, the shot deflects off Diop and Fabianski just about scrambles to tip the ball over!
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50 min: Looks like Dallas has moved into midfield, with Alioski slotting into left back.
48 min: Leeds so nearly get one back! Their best chance of the game! A beautiful slide-rule pass from centre-back Llorente is put right into the stride of Bamford, who has time to look up before a first-time strike with his favoured left foot … wide! Ooooo, and that’s a bad miss. A yard wide of the far post!
Peeeeep! We’re off again in east London!
Two changes by a presumably furious Bielsa at half-time: Harrison and Alioski come on for Helder Costa and Klich, who were both anonymous after the first five minutes.
West Ham are unchanged.
Half-time reading:
Half-time: West Ham 2-0 Leeds
Leeds were excellent in the first 20 minutes but have withered badly since conceding that penalty. West Ham could easily be three up, but will have to settle for two.
45+1 min: From the corner, Dawson hits the post! So close to his second goal of the night! Cresswell this time with the outswinger, as Dawson fights his way through a crowd of bodies and glances a stooping header onto the far post. The ball rebounds to Roberts, who does well to clear. Leeds look unable to live with Dawson and co from set pieces at the moment!
45 min: Two minutes added on here. West Ham have yet ANOTHER corner.
43 min: Meslier comes and claims, the ball just over the top of the head of Soucek, who actually collides with the post on the follow through of his run. It’s a nasty sound with the post, but looks like he’s OK.
42 min: Benrahma tricks his way past Ayling and drives right through the heart of Leeds’ midfield, carrying the ball a good 30 yards before releasing Fornals, who sees his cross blocked for the corner.
39 min: Regarding the pre-match chat about an England XI for the summer, Robert Lin has had a stab.
“I’d like Southgate to go back to 4-3-3,” he emails. “Pickford / Trent-Stones-Maguire-Chilwell / Rice-Mount-Foden / Sterling-Kane-Rashford.”
I would change Dean Henderson for Pickford, and Shaw for Chilwell. And maybe have Jordan Henderson in for Foden? Depends on who we’re playing I guess.
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37 min: Meslier does better from this corner. A good strong punch well out of his penalty area. Incidentally, Rob Green was very good pre-match on his analysis of Meslier, on Sky’s coverage.
36 min: Benrahma tries his luck from range and forces Meslier to turn the ball around for a corner. Here come the cavalry again!
34 min: Roberts is a fine young talent but doesn’t have the passing range to play in that No 10 position. He’s been poor thus far, even if his finish for the disallowed goal was tidy.
32 min: Helder Costa and Raphinha have swapped flanks as Leeds try to get back into the game.
30 min: “Hello Michael,” emails Geoff Wignall. “Re the best summer signings: Godfrey for Everton. “Wish my team had bought him. And was Lamptey transferred in the summer?”
Lamptey was January 2020, I’m pretty sure. But Godfrey is certainly up there, as is Dawson for West Ham!
GOAL! West Ham 2-0 Leeds (Dawson 28)
The simplest of goals, as Dawson loses Llorente from the corner and nods the ball into the net at the back post! Meslier was rooted on his line, and couldn’t get round the considerable figure of Antonio when he tried to come for the cross. Poor defending and poor goalkeeping, an awful goal to concede again.
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26 min: Close! Cresswell takes the free-kick, it strikes Ayling next to the wall, completely wrong-foots Meslier and flies two yards wide! A certain goal otherwise!
25 min: Untidy defending from Leeds as Phillips fails to clear and then Cooper brings down Antonio right on the edge of Leeds’ box. A perfect angle for the left-footer, 25 yards out.
23 min: Leeds have been the better side, but find themselves behind. Well then.
GOAL! West Ham 1-0 Leeds (Lingard 21)
Meslier saves Lingard’s penalty as he dives to his right, but Lingard is first to the rebound and easily sweeps it into the opposite corner. A shocking penalty, but Lingard has got away with it! An impish look on his face as he wheels away in celebration!
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PENALTY TO WEST HAM
20 min: Lingard drives into the box at pace, Ayling dangles a leg, and Mike Dean awards the penalty! Replays show there was contact.
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18 min: West Ham create their first chance of note, a hopeful cross from the left, and Soucek does well to win the header, which he plants wide. He’s so dangerous from those positions, though.
16 min: Was there a better summer signing in the Premier League last summer than the £17m Leeds paid for Raphinha? Maybe Hojbjerg for Spurs or Emiliano Martinez/Ollie Watkins for Aston Villa?
Still, Raphinha is a special talent, and has the physique, mentality and work rate to boot. Woof. He’s playing on the left tonight, rather than his preferred right wing, but has already beaten Coufal (another good summer signing) twice.
14 min: BIIIIIIIG sliding tackle from Phillips on his England rival Rice. It’s a foul but the Leeds man will have enjoyed that.
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12 min: Bielsa is restless in his gargantuan technical area, barking instructions here, up and down on his haunches.
10 min: The first real break forward for West Ham, but Leeds players get back into their shape so quickly that the move quickly puffs out.
LEEDS HAVE THE BALL IN THE NET AGAIN!
8 min: It’s all Leeds at the moment, as Raphinha gets the byline, pokes a cross low to the near post, where Bamford is there to sidefoot a fine finish past Fabianski! Great finish, but Raphinha didn’t manage to keep the ball from going behind for a goal kick before the cross. Two narrow escapes for West Ham. Millimetres in it. It remains 0-0.
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GOAL FOR LEEDS DISALLOWED!
6 min: Patrick Bamford flicks on a cross to the back post, where Costa is unmarked. He squares the ball back across the six yard box and Roberts is there to sweep it in! The flag is raised by the linesman, though, with Costa judged to be offside from Bamford’s flick. It is checked by VAR, which after a bit of line-drawing, sees that Costa’s kneecap was just beyond the heel of Cresswell!
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4 min: Leeds have started the better. Some slick passing releases Costa, who finds some room inside the box and flashes a fierce shot just over. Encouraging signs.
2 min: Leeds win a corner after a strong fun from Helder Costa, but it is calmly headed away before Rice sees off Roberts at the byline.
Peeeeeep! A quick moment of pause for the anti-racism message and we’re off.
A minute of applause for Glenn Roeder, former manager of West Ham, who sadly died just over a week ago.
Louise Taylor wrote this on the 65-year-old.
“Bielsa’s ‘incredibly big runners’ will probably be the fittest gang to show up at this ground since 2012,” emails Justin Kavanagh. “And they’ll have more hair buns than we saw at that Olympics’ equestrian events.”
Full-time at Stamford Bridge and a big result in the race for that fourth Champions League place: Chelsea 2-0 Everton.
That means a win for West Ham tonight would take them back up to fifth.
| Pos | Team | P | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Man City | 28 | 37 | 65 |
| 2 | Man Utd | 28 | 23 | 54 |
| 3 | Leicester | 28 | 16 | 53 |
| 4 | Chelsea | 28 | 19 | 50 |
| 5 | Everton | 27 | 4 | 46 |
| 6 | Tottenham Hotspur | 27 | 18 | 45 |
| 7 | West Ham | 26 | 9 | 45 |
| 8 | Liverpool | 28 | 11 | 43 |
| 9 | Aston Villa | 26 | 11 | 40 |
| 10 | Arsenal | 27 | 7 | 38 |
| 11 | Leeds | 26 | -1 | 35 |
| 12 | Wolverhampton | 28 | -9 | 35 |
| 13 | Crystal Palace | 28 | -17 | 34 |
| 14 | Southampton | 27 | -11 | 33 |
| 15 | Burnley | 28 | -16 | 30 |
| 16 | Newcastle | 27 | -17 | 27 |
| 17 | Brighton | 27 | -8 | 26 |
| 18 | Fulham | 28 | -11 | 26 |
| 19 | West Brom | 28 | -36 | 18 |
| 20 | Sheff Utd | 28 | -29 | 14 |
A bit of West Ham news from earlier today. Noble is on the bench tonight, he has only made three league starts this season.
Some pre-match wibble from various people:
David Moyes: “The challenge with Leeds is that they are incredibly big runners and they are right up there with the chances they create. But they also give away chances so we’ll be looking to take advantage.
Stuart Dallas: “We need to win tonight if we have ambitions of going into the top 10.”
Marcelo Bielsa on Kalvin Phillips: “He’s an important player. He’s played the most in defensive midfield and he’s the player who best resolves our play.”
The teams!
West Ham: Fabianski, Coufal, Dawson, Diop, Cresswell, Soucek, Rice, Fornals, Lingard, Benrahma, Antonio.
Subs: Balbuena, Lanzini, Noble, Bowen, Martin, Johnson, Trott, Odubeko.
Leeds: Meslier, Ayling, Llorente, Cooper, Dallas, Phillips, Raphinha, Klich, Roberts, Helder Costa, Bamford.
Subs: Poveda-Ocampo, Alioski, Rodrigo, Harrison, Davis, Caprile, Jenkins, Huggins, Berardi.
Referee: Mike Dean (Wirral)
Phillips returns, as does Fabianski for West Ham after missing the defeat to Manchester City. Benrahma is handed his first start since the 0-0 draw with Fulham over a month ago.
Preamble
What is your England team for the Euros? Three at the back? Who on earth are we going to put in goal? No, you’re not allowed Kane, Sterling, Rashford, Saka, Foden and Sancho all in the same team. It’s against the rules.
It’s not the sexiest position but whoever anchors the base of Gareth Southgate’s midfield will be one of the most important in the XI. West Ham’s Declan Rice and Leeds’ Kalvin Phillips are two of the best contenders for the role, and with the latter recently recovered from the calf injury that has kept him out for a month. The return is well timed, with the international break only around the corner, and Jordan Henderson out for a few weeks after his groin surgery.
Best believe, Phillips’ battle with Rice tonight will be watched by Southgate. Both have been key to both teams’ overall form, with Leeds comfortably in mid-table in their first season back in the top flight and West Ham potentially moving into fifth if Chelsea continue to beat Everton (currently Tuchel’s side are winning 1-0, which you can follow here).
It should be a good’un, with three points and international ambitions on the line.
Kick-off: 8pm GMT.
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