Leeds reaction
Ethan Ampadu
Obviously we’re delighted. For the last couple of years we’ve been unable to beat Burnley and we wanted to get a little bit of revenge. We also wanted to get to 43 points – we can’t say it will be enough [to stay up] but we’ve put ourselves in a strong position.
Anton Stach
The last three games are very important for us. We’re in a good mood – look at this today with our fans – so hopefully we’ll get the win in those games as well.
The first half was very intense. In the second half we lost our structure at times but we defended well and it was a very deserved win.
The players and manager are doing a lap of honour, soundtracked by I Predict A Riot. They’ve worked so hard for this moment and deserved to drink it all in.
It was the night all the nerves vanished into the ether, replaced by every track on the Leeds United soundtrack as Premier League survival was all but confirmed. It was all too easy to defeat rudderless and relegated Burnley, to put Leeds nine points clear of the relegation zone, with their rivals having four games remaining.
Anton Stach’s smart shot started the festivities before Noah Okafor and Dominic Calvert-Lewin provided the headline act to move Leeds above Newcastle into 14th and extend the gap to 18th-placed Tottenham. The final half an hour at Elland Road was boisterous as the supporters celebrated a crucial victory in what will be a hard-fought journey to safety.
Full time: Leeds 3-1 Burnley
Dan James forces a sprawling save from Dubravka with the last attack. Leeds got the job done with the minimum of fuss and are now nine points clear of the relegation places. Technically they can still go down, but there’s more chance of world peace breaking out overnight.
Anton Stach, Noah Okafor and Dominic Calvert-Lewin – three excellent summer signings who cost a combined £35m – got the goals, and the result was never really in doubt. Daniel Farke, who was apparently on the brink of a P45 in December, has worked wonders.
90+7 min Walker’s cross bounces around the Leeds area before Anthony shoots over on the turn. A pretty good chance, though I doubt Burnley would have had enough time even if he had scored.
90+5 min Walker pings a long-range shot that is blocked. Then Hannibal whips a curer from the edge of the D that is headed away by Bijol.
90+4 min: Leeds substitutions Daniel James and Willy Gnonto replace Jayden Bogle, who is excellent every time I see him, and Dominic Calvert-Lewin.
90+2 min This is a good stat from the Sky Sports team – the most chances created by a player in the Premier League this season. Stach was superb in the first half of this game.
114 Bruno Fernandes
61 Anton Stach, Declan Rice, Dominik Szoboszlai
Updated
90 min There will be eight minutes of adde- how long?
88 min Hannibal is booked for a foul on Aaronson. The home crowd enjoyed that.
85 min Leeds have regained control after an awkward few minutes. Rodon almost makes it 4-1 when he heads a corner straight at Dubravka. That was a good chance.
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80 min Calvert-Lewin rumbles down the right and tries to find the unmarked Nmecha in the middle. His cross is overhit and the opportunity goes begging.
79 min Burnley are playing with more freedom and could yet give Leeds a scare. Hannibal has been very positive in possession since coming on as substitute.
76 min: Double substitution for Burnley Armando Broja and Zeki Amdouni, who has been out all season with injury, replaces Bashir Humphreys and Zian Flemming. That probably means a switch to a back four.
75 min Ampadu is booked for a crowd-pleasing tactical foul on Hannibal.
75 min Calvert-Lewin and Nmecha both go for Bogle’s clipped cross. Not sure who got the touch but the ball looped harmlessly into Dubravka’s hands.
72 min: Leeds substitutions Brenden Aaronson and Sean Longstaff replace Ao Tanaka and the inspirational Anton Stach.
GOAL! Leeds 3-1 Burnley (Tchaouna 71)
This one will count. Anthony played a good angled pass through to Tchaouna, who tried to cut inside Struijk in the penalty area. The ball hit Struijk’s trailing leg and bounced up kindly for Tchaouna, who walloped it into the far corner. Good finish.
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70 min Hannibal is being booed every time he touches the ball, presumably because of this.
69 min: No goal! Yep, he was half a yard offside.
After a good Burnley move, Humphreys drove a left-foot shot across goal that was saved by Darlow. Lucas Pires gobbled up the rebound from a couple of yards and then the flag went up.
68 min: VAR check The substitute Lucas Pires has a goal disallowed for offside – but it’s very tight and will be checked.
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67 min Leeds picked up only 11 points from their first 13 Premier League games – but the 13th, a narrow 3-2 defeat Manchester City, turned their season. They beat Chelsea a few days later and have taken 32 points from the last 22 games: W7 D11 L4.
66 min: Double substitution for Burnley Florentino Luis and Lucas Pires come on for James Ward-Prowse and Quilindschy Hartman.
65 min: Leeds substitution Lukas Nmecha replaces the terrific Noah Okafor.
64 min A weary Kyle Walker tries to head back to Dubravka and puts it on the roof of his own net.
61 min This is the bottom of the table as things stand.
| Pos | Team | P | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 13 | Crystal Palace | 33 | -3 | 43 |
| 14 | Leeds | 35 | -4 | 43 |
| 15 | Newcastle | 34 | -4 | 42 |
| 17 | West Ham | 34 | -16 | 36 |
| 18 | Tottenham Hotspur | 34 | -10 | 34 |
| 19 | Burnley | 35 | -37 | 20 |
59 min Dubravka was caught painfully by Calvert-Lewin and possibly Bijol as well. But after treatment he is okay to continue.
59 min “It’s fascinating to consider, during this match, the chatter about Scott Parker’s reputation as an excellent Championship manager, but when he gets into the Premier League he’s still merely an excellent Championship manager,” says Eric Peterson. “That’s precisely the reputation I remember Daniel Farke bringing with him into this season for Leeds, one that I’d say he’s taken impressive steps to dispel.”
58 min Dubravka was hurt in the incident that led to Calvert-Lewin’s goal. He was still on the floor, having made that safe from Tanaka, and was trampled on by somebody – it’s hard to see how it was as there were at least five players going for the ball.
Tanaka received a square pass on the edge of the area and cut across an awkward, swerving shot that Dubravka could only push out in front of goal. Calvert-Lewin got to the rebound a split second before two Burnley defenders and poked in his 12th league goal of the season.
GOAL! Leeds 3-0 Burnley (Calvert-Lewin 56)
Leeds are cruising to victory, and with a nine-point lead over Spurs.
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54 min: Burnley substitution Hannibal replaces Josh Laurent.
53 min At £18m, Noah Okafor is one of the signings of the season.
Calvert-Lewin collected a loose pass on the halfway line, charged 40 yards down the right and released the underlapping Bogle with a lovely backheel. He looked up and floated a deliberately deep cross towards Okafor, who sidefooted a textbook volley into the ground and back across Dubravka. Beautiful football.
GOAL! Leeds 2-0 Burnley (Okafor 52)
Noah Okafor doubles the lead with a fabulous goal!
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51 min Stach whips a shot from the edge of the area that is headed away by a stooping defender on the six-yard line.
48 min Calvert-Lewin is booked for pulling back Humphreys.
47 min A dipping, deflected shot from Ward-Prowse, 25 yards out, is saved comfortably by Darlow.
46 min Peep peep! They’re back under way; neither team has made any half-time changes.
Updated
Half-time reading
Half time: Leeds 1-0 Burnley
Not the greatest first half at Elland Road, but Leeds have been much the better team and lead through Anton Stach’s excellent early goal. As things stand, they are nine points clear of Spurs in 18th place.
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45+1 min Justin shoots straight at Dubravka from 20 yards.
45 min Tchaouna leads a Burnley break and stands up a nice cross beyond the far post. Anthony’s header is blocked by his teammate Flemming on the six-yard line.
43 min A cross from Anthony goes out of play on the far side for a goalkick.
40 min Stach, the best player on the pitch, wins another corner for Leeds.
The corner eventually leads to a shot on the turn from Ampadu that is blocked. Burnley break and Rodon is booked for fouling Anthony.
38 min Okafor’s cross from the left ricochets around the area until Esteve’s attempted clerance hits Justin and flies towards goal. Dubravka makes a comfortable save.
37 min Now Tchaouna is booked for throwing a second ball onto the pitch in frustration after a throw-in is given to Leeds. Silly boy.
35 min Humphreys is booked for a late tackle on Stach.
34 min Burnley are starting to have more possession the Leeds half. Karl Darlow hasn’t had anything to do yet but there has been a slight change in the game.
31 min Esteve surges excitingly through the inside-left channel, Micky van de Ven-style, but eventually overruns the ball and is tackled by Rodon.
30 min Walker is penalised for a late tackle on Ampadu. The crowd want a yellow card but don’t get their wish.
27 min Struijk is booked for a tactical foul on Tchaouna.
26 min Leeds have had over 70 per cent possession and six shots at goal to none by Burnley.
22 min The impressive Stach is first to a defensive header and lobs a good ball into the area towards Bogle. He is very well tackled by the stretching Hartman, after which the ball runs loose in the six-yard box. Stach has a shot smothered and Burnley eventually clear the danger.
Updated
21 min This is Kyle Walker’s 500th league appearance in England, 443 of them in the Premier League. He’s getting a good workout tonight, with Noah Okafor a constant threat.
20 min The biggest danger to Leeds is probably complacency. Burnley are working hard, and their defensive shape is decent, but they have very little confidence in possession.
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17 min Tanaka makes up for his own slip with a well-time interception in his own area.
16 min Stach wins the ball high up the field and tees up Ampadu, whose shot from the edge of the area is blocked. Tanaka slashes the follow-up high and wide from distance.
15 min That was Stach’s fourth league goal of the season from outside the area. He’s joint top of that particular table with Antoine Semenyo and Dominik Szoboszlai.
12 min The first 12 minutes have been almost painfully one-sided. Unsurprisingly in the circumstances, Burnley look a bit woebegone.
10 min Stach curls the free-kick over the bar.
9 min Calvert-Lewin is pulled back 25 yards from goal by Esteve. The free-kick gives Stach, such a clean striker of the ball, another chance to go for goal.
Bijol clipped a fast pass into Stach, unmarked 25 yards from goal. He controlled it on the half turn with his right foot and drilled an early left-foot drive that beat the diving Dubravka for pace. Excellent goal.
Updated
GOAL! Leeds 1-0 Burnley (Stach 8)
Stach’s back, baby!
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4 min Plenty of early pressure from Leeds, as you’d expect. Burnley’s shape is closer to 5-4-1 than 3-4-2-1.
1 min Okafor puts a cross onto the abundant noggin of Calvert-Lewin after barely 20 seconds. Calvert-Lewin had to wrestle with a defender to get to the ball, which meant he was off balance when he made contact; the ball thus flew across goal rather than towards it.
1 min Peeeeeeeeep peeeeeeeeeep! Leeds kick off from right to left as we watch.
A reminder of the teams
Leeds (3-4-2-1) Darlow; Rodon, Bijol, Struijk; Bogle, Ampadu, Tanaka, Justin; Stach, Okafor; Calvert-Lewin.
Subs: Perri, Byram, Bornauw, Longstaff, Aaronson, James, Gnonto, Piroe, Nmecha.
Burnley (3-4-2-1) Dubravka; Ekdal, Humphreys, Esteve; Walker, Ward-Prowse, Laurent, Hartman; Tchaouna, Anthony; Flemming.
Subs: Weiss, Worrall, Ugochukwu, Edwards, Florentino, Pires, Amdouni, Broja, Hannibal.
Referee Thomas Bramall.
“It’s a question of whether there’ll be rain after today’s sunshine for Leeds this evening,” writes Steve Norgate. “And yes, that is a reference to the misspelling of Lucas Berri, I mean, Perri.”
Never mind Mary Berri, how can that song be 31 years old?
Daniel Farke’s pre-match thoughts
I’m very respectful of Burnley. After a change of manager it can be difficult to predict what will happen, but we know they will compact, they will be competitive – and they have good footballers if you allow them to play. We have to be on it today.
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Team news
Leeds make three changes from their FA Cup semi-final defeat. Karl Darlow, Joe Rodon and Anton Stach replace Lucas Berri, the injured Gabriel Gudmundsson and Brenden Aaronson.
Burnley’s caretaker manager Mike Jackson names an unchanged side.
Leeds (3-4-2-1) Darlow; Rodon, Bijol, Struijk; Bogle, Ampadu, Tanaka, Justin; Stach, Okafor; Calvert-Lewin.
Subs: Perri, Byram, Bornauw, Longstaff, Aaronson, James, Gnonto, Piroe, Nmecha.
Burnley (3-4-2-1) Dubravka; Ekdal, Humphreys, Esteve; Walker, Ward-Prowse, Laurent, Hartman; Tchaouna, Anthony; Flemming.
Subs: Weiss, Worrall, Ugochukwu, Edwards, Florentino, Pires, Amdouni, Broja, Hannibal.
Referee Thomas Bramall.
Updated
The equation is simple. If Leeds beat relegated – and now managerless - Burnley at Elland Road on Friday they will reach 43 points and be extremely unlikely to meet the same fate as their opponents. Daniel Farke’s losing FA Cup semi-finalists are then scheduled to travel to Tottenham, but victory against Burnley, who they pipped to the Championship title last season, would settle nerves in West Yorkshire. Farke, though, does not necessarily expect a straightforward match.
“There’s definitely no complacency,” he said, speaking before the news of Scott Parker’s departure. “I’ve got so much respect for Scott. I’d say there’s not one time this season Burnley were played off the field. They’re always very competitive, they’ve had many tight games.” As Mike Jackson takes caretaker charge at Turf Moor, Farke hopes another three points will persuade Leeds to extend his own contract.
This feels like the night Leeds should all but confirm a second year in the Premier League. Burnley are already relegated and without a manager; if they cannot beat them at home, it would be a desperate shame for Daniel Farke and his side, especially after the disappointment of losing to Chelsea in the FA Cup.
The hosts should be up and at Burnley, testing their frailties at the back and in midfield. When Leeds are at their peak, few can cope with the tempo and physicality they offer, and the Clarets fall into that category.
For Burnley, it will be a question of how caretaker Mike Jackson changes things in the hope his team can offer the fans some joy. It does not look like he will make many adjustments as Burnley look to go through the motions until the end of the season.
Preamble
Evening. Last season, Leeds and Burnley were separated only by goal difference. They both picked up exactly 100 points in the Championship, with automatic promotion to the Premier League their reward. This season – as is so often the case with promoted clubs, and please don’t ask me why – their paths have diverged.
Leeds have 40 points, twice as many as relegated Burnley, and are almost safe. It’s 23 years since a team was relegated from the Premier League after reaching 40 points – but that may happen this year, so Leeds still have a bit of work to do, especially as two of their last three games are away to Spurs and West Ham.
You’d expect Leeds to win tonight against a managerless, relegated opponent. If they do, all will be well. If not, they could yet be dragged into something unpleasant.
Kick-off 8pm BST
| Pos | Team | P | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Arsenal | 34 | 38 | 73 |
| 2 | Man City | 33 | 37 | 70 |
| 3 | Man Utd | 34 | 14 | 61 |
| 4 | Liverpool | 34 | 13 | 58 |
| 5 | Aston Villa | 34 | 5 | 58 |
| 6 | Brighton | 34 | 9 | 50 |
| 7 | AFC Bournemouth | 34 | 0 | 49 |
| 8 | Chelsea | 34 | 8 | 48 |
| 9 | Brentford | 34 | 3 | 48 |
| 10 | Fulham | 34 | -2 | 48 |
| 11 | Everton | 34 | 0 | 47 |
| 12 | Sunderland | 34 | -9 | 46 |
| 13 | Crystal Palace | 33 | -3 | 43 |
| 14 | Newcastle | 34 | -4 | 42 |
| 15 | Leeds | 34 | -7 | 40 |
| 16 | Nottm Forest | 34 | -4 | 39 |
| 17 | West Ham | 34 | -16 | 36 |
| 18 | Tottenham Hotspur | 34 | -10 | 34 |
| 19 | Burnley | 34 | -34 | 20 |
| 20 | Wolverhampton | 34 | -38 | 17 |
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