Subs not used: Klaesson, Hjelde, Cresswell, Greenwood, Shackleton, Gray.
Leeds started with yet another experimental line up featuring a back four consisting entirely of centre backs.
It was a one sided game from the opening whistle and we spent the first 20 minutes under relentless pressure from Chelsea, who also scored an early goal. Dan James then got himself sent off for a crazy challenge on Mateo Kovacic, so we were down to 10 men for the second game in a row, and it means that yet another of our first team regulars will be unavailable for this season’s remaining games.
And then, as if to demonstrate that without bad luck we’d have no luck at all, Jack Harrison had to leave the field with an injury 10 minutes before half time and was replaced by Junio Firpo. We spent most of the rest of the game chasing shadows and when Chelsea doubled their lead in the 55th minute it was already game over.
But things continued to go from bad to worse for Leeds when Raphinha also went down injured and was replaced by Joe Gelhardt in the 78th minute. Chelsea scored their third goal a few minutes from the end.
Championship football next season now seems like a certainty….
Subs not used: Klaesson, Hjelde, Cresswell, Greenwood, Shackleton, Gray.
This game went as badly as it’s possible to get for Leeds United and makes relegation even more likely.
Stuart Dallas underwent surgery last week and will be out for a lengthy period, meaning that we had to start our first Premier League match without him since winning promotion in 2020. Liam Cooper still hasn’t recovered from his recent knock and also missed out.
Arsenal took an early lead thanks to a defensive howler from Illan Meslier, who mis-controlled a routine back pass and allowed Eddie Nketiah to poke the ball into the net from close range. Nketiah (a player who’s out of contract at the end of the season and was open to offers during the January transfer window) scored an excellent second goal five minutes later and it already looked like game over for Leeds….
Less than 10 minutes later Luke Ayling (playing his 500th professional game) was sent off for a really reckless challenge, which means we’ll have to play our last three games without another of our first team regulars.
After that it was all Arsenal, but some dogged defending from Leeds kept them at bay. Lewis Bate also impressed after replacing Mateusz Klich at half time. It took Leeds until the 65th minute to mount a serious challenge on goal, which resulted in our first corner, from which we scored with our first shot on target - a great finish from Diego Llorente at the far post.
But it wasn’t enough….
We’re now in the bottom three and it’s difficult to believe we can climb out of it. After this week’s fixtures Everton are a point above us with a game in hand and Burnley are level on points but with a much better goal difference. Their remaining games are also easier than ours and they don’t have to play them with the kind of depleted squad that we’ve got available. It would take a miracle for us to stay up….
Subs not used: Klaesson, Llorente, Bate, Cresswell, Shackleton.
Leeds had to make a last minute change to the starting line up when Liam Cooper was injured during the pre-match warm up - although I’m not sure how much difference it made. Nobody expected us to get anything from this fixture.
Although the gulf in class between us and Citeh is immense, we did manage to keep them reasonably quiet for much of the game, while also playing some decent football ourselves. The scoreline was a bit harsh on us, but they always had the quality to punish our mistakes and were clinical with their finishing when it mattered.
Leeds almost got on the scoresheet early on when Rodrigo broke forward and could have played in Raphinha, who would have been clean through, but he held on to the ball too long and was eventually dispossessed….
Man City’s first goal came from a poorly defended set piece, but apart from that they didn’t really threaten in the first half. However, losing Stuart Dallas to injury just before half time was a big blow for us.
We were still in the game until City scored their second a few minutes after the re-start (also from a set piece). We tried to rally, but left ourselves open at the back, making it easier for City to score their third and fourth goals on the break.
As usual Elland Road was full and it was amazing to hear the whole ground singing “we all love Leeds” for the last 15 minutes, appreciating the fact that the team never gave up even though it was a losing battle from the start.
Meanwhile Burnley won their third game in a row and moved ahead of us on goal difference. Everton also won and are now two points behind us with a game in hand.
Oh what a time to be alive, and be a Newcastle United supporter. 9th in the league some how, and after a disastrous first 14 games of the season. Eddie Howe deserves immense credit for the turnaround and Joelinton is an absolute legend.
You have to love Magda (who already has a black eye from celebrating the league title) carefully removing the lid before lifting the trophy. Millie certainly remembers what happened last time.
The only woman to lift the FA Cup four times as a manager.
Drew and Ji fly the blue flag one last time.
Emma Hayes: I can’t bear losing. I can’t bear the thought of it, and then when I think about it, it fuels me. The minute I feel any of them coming close, I just want to get better. I don’t do well in comfort.
Emma with the last word: Honestly, those women, they will go down in history. I will look back in ten years’ time and I’ll be thinking that group is immense. It’s the best team I’ve ever coached. I totally understand that we always want to talk about perfection in football, but having been on the winning side more often than not, let me tell you, it’s about human endeavor. And we have a group of people who do exactly what we said. They are not going to be on the losing team, they’ll find a way.
Sam Kerr scores a brace against Manchester City in the FA Cup final.
First goal:
Brother: What a goal. I’m sure it was a pass, but we will take it. Me: MAN! What a goal! Brother:Oh,Kerr finished it. Everyone was fooled; I bet even Bright thinks she scored.
Second goal:
Brother: Fuck yes. How could you give up a 2v1 like that?
Brother:Boehly has the hand motion of a guy who wants to pick his nose but knows that he might be on camera. Me: That’s the thing about Roman, he knows he can kill people, so he would just be like fuck it. Brother:Boehly’s PR person should tell him he should put his legs down so he’s not going legs open right in the direction of the camera. I’m guessing this is the last time we see him anyway, he probably will just go back to LA. Me: I’m pretty sure Boehly doesn’t have a PR person, because he wouldn’t look like that then. Brother: So you are saying there’s an opening?
Ruben Loftus-Cheek’s goal is ruled offside, 41st minute:
Brother: Cannot tell if Boehly just does not understand offsides or had the same reaction we all do to this shit. Me: The other guy didn’t seem like he knew what was happening, but they both definitely knew this was the worst.
2nd half:
Me:Bruce Buck looks like he was on a drunken bender last night and just woke up. Brother: Yeah, man, he looks sloppy sitting next to a man who looks sloppy. Me: I hope the deal for the club finally came down to Boehly challenging Buck to a drinking game and he won. Brother: I would bet heavily on Buck winning that. Me: Really? He’s old and Boehly looks like he knows about drinking. Now if we were talking Boehly v. Marina, I would bet on her.
A penalty is awarded, 54th minute:
Me: FUCK YES PEN. Oh great, Boehly’s picking his teeth. Brother: Oh, Boehly gets his finger in his mouth just as the camera cuts back to him.
Me: That one dude next to Boehly looks like a slightly less creepy Julian Assange. Not a look you want. Brother: He realized on TV that there was an open seat and Boehly was on camera a lot, so he decided to move there to get on TV more. Seems like an Assange move.
