Patrick Bamford almost made an instant impact when he entered the field of play against Arsenal at the start of the second half. The Leeds United striker replaced Rodrigo at the interval and within a minute or so of the kick-off, he found himself firing the ball beyond Aaron Ramsdale and into the back of the visitors’ net.
Elland Road erupted as Bamford spun around to begin his celebrations, levelling the scores with what he thought was his first goal of the season. As he turned, though, he heard referee Chris Kavanagh’s whistle and saw the match official signal for a free-kick.
Joy drained out of his body as Kavanagh pointed the finger at him and explained he had seen Bamford foul Gunners centre-back Gabriel in the build-up to the goal. It was tough on the England international, who only had eyes for goal as the ball dropped in the area, but it also probably summed up what was a frustrating afternoon for the forward.
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Bamford will take confidence out of the fact that he played well for a majority of the time he spent on the field. He got involved in build-up play and positionally he was strong as he lurked on the last man and gave William Saliba and Gabriel something to think about on a consistent basis.
He created openings, combined well with Jack Harrison, Brenden Aaronson and Luis Sinisterra and he certainly gave Leeds the something going forward that they were lacking in the first half. He will also have made Jesse Marsch think twice before leaving him out again, having opted for Rodrigo to lead the line for the Whites against the table toppers.
However, with Leeds chasing the game, Bamford will be kicking himself for the chances he spurned in the second half of the contest. Unfortunately, a penalty miss in the 64 th minute, awarded by VAR for a Saliba handball, and the mental impact of that won’t have helped either as he struggled to catch a break in front of goal.
A number of chances came and went and while he did manage to work Ramsdale on a couple of occasions, a Bamford at full tilt would have buried those opportunities, of that there is no doubt. Had that early goal have been allowed it may have been a different story, too, acting to blow off any remaining cobwebs from his time on the sidelines and see him find his groove.
To draw a blank will have left a sour taste in his mouth, but, as Marsch rightly pointed out after the game, he should be heartened by the fact that chances consistently fell his way in the game.
“I think the thing with Patrick is that, I said even in the press conference this week, if a striker is not getting chances, then you're more worried about it than if he's missing them,” the head coach said. “Obviously a penalty winds up being more of like a psychological issue when you miss the frame then even a quality issue.
“But I feel like Patrick's coming into form, he's looking physically strong and now hopefully we can develop a rhythm with him and we can be a different team if he can catch on fire.”
It is clear Bamford is capable of playing himself back into form, Sunday’s outing showed that as he produced in a number of aspects. He needs time on the field, though, and that’s the only way he’s going to build up his fitness and self-belief in front of goal.
The Whites travel to Leicester City on Thursday night for what is starting to resemble something close to an early season six-pointer for Marsch and his side and Bamford definitely has a key role to play. The 29-year-old surely has to start at the King Power Stadium, given the way his introduction helped change the game against Arsenal, and a Premier League goal would help to not only galvanise him, but the team around him, as well.
Sunday’s performance was enough to show that Bamford still have goals in him and they’ll come if he’s given more minutes on the field for Leeds.
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