Leeds United showed they can shake things up by doing a Burnley over Burnley on Sunday afternoon. Following last weekend’s 6-2 loss to Manchester United, the Leeds defence had come into question but Marcelo Bielsa’s tinkering saw Leeds beat the Clarets 1-0 at Elland Road – and plenty have responded on social media to the sixth league win of the season.
Fans, pundits and many more had seemingly forgotten that prior to the Manchester United defeat, Leeds had kept four clean sheets in 13 Premier League matches. Their fifth came on Saturday and Patrick Bamford’s tenth of the season – from the penalty spot – has propelled the Whites into a respectable 12th place in the Premier League table.
Here are the best bits of social media, following the win:
Jansson’s Instagram praise for duo:
Luke Ayling and Kalvin Phillips formed a back three – along with Pascal Struijk – in a bold move that looked to fend off the physicality of both Chris Wood and Ashley Barnes. Bielsa is renowned for using a back three against teams that play with two up top and that’s exactly what he did against Sean Dyche’s men. Pontus Jansson responded to both Phillips and Ayling’s Instagram posts – praising the latter with a hilarious comment.
Noel Whelan, Nigel Martyn and Jermaine Beckford
Many watched on from behind the sofa as Leeds narrowly picked up all three points. We were lucky to see an Ashley Barnes goal ruled offside, while Burnley had chances to equalise late on – Jay Rodriguez blazing over. But Whelan, Martyn and Beckford all applauded the defensive work of a Leeds side that have recently been criticised.
Struijk gets Captain’s plaudits
Many forget that Sunday was only Struijk’s 12th senior game for Leeds. But with Liam Cooper, Robin Koch and Diego Llorente all injured, he has been relied upon to make an instant impact despite still only being 21 years of age. That pressure, though, did not get to him on Sunday as he starred against a physical Burnley side – and his performance got him the applause of the captain on Instagram.
