Goals from Helder Costa and Patrick Bamford helped Leeds United earn a dramatic first home Premier League win for 16 years on this day in 2020.
Daniel Farke is taking a very different approach to his predecessor, Marcelo Bielsa, as he attempts to guide Leeds to Premier League safety.
While Dominic Calvert-Lewin has become a lightning rod for criticism as Leeds struggle to find the net this season, Bielsa’s side scored eight goals in their first two games as they attempted to score their way to safety.
Having succumbed to a dramatic 4-3 defeat against defending champions Liverpool on the opening day of the season, fans were hoping for a calmer ride when Leeds welcomed Fulham to Elland Road.
Although Leeds secured the win their fans so desperately craved, they went about it the hard way, as Patrick Bamford scored a decisive goal to hand Bielsa’s side the win.
Patrick Bamford inspires dramatic Leeds United win
Having gone toe-to-toe with the champions, Leeds welcomed newly-promoted Fulham to Elland Road in their second game back, and did not suffer the heartbreak of their recent trip to Craven Cottage.
In the eerie surroundings of an empty Elland Road, Helder Costa opened the scoring with a brilliant strike from an acute angle, before Aleksandar Mitrovic, who was linked with Leeds this summer, pulled Fulham level from the penalty spot after a foul from Robin Koch.
However, the referee evened things up when he adjudged that Bamford was fouled in the box, allowing Mateusz Klich to roll home from the penalty spot coolly, before Bamford produced a calm finish inside the box to put Leeds 3-1 up in the second half.
The game appeared to be over when Costa got on the end of Bamford’s pass to slam home from inside the penalty area, but Leeds’ defensive frailty showed with a late wobble.
First, Bobby De Cordova-Reid took advantage of a fractured defensive line to remain onside and fire past Meslier to make the game 4-2. Then, Mitrovic outjumped Liam Cooper to nod home and set up a nervy finish for Leeds.
However, Leeds held on for the points, thanks to Bamford’s second goal in two games, as he embarked on the most prolific top-flight season of his career.
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Leeds prove Marcelo Bielsa wrong in incredible season
Speaking to the BBC after the game, the legendary Leeds boss suggested that his team would be unable to maintain their dazzling performance in front of goal across the entire season, as they looked to take the Premier League by surprise.
Bielsa said: “This won’t be a constant all year. It is very difficult to maintain the efficiency [in front of goal] we have had in these first two games.
“The characteristics of our game are to create goal-scoring opportunities. In these two games, we have created very little, but we have scored all our chances.”
In the end, Leeds finished the season with 62 goals scored, with 17 goals from Bamford, as they marauded their way to a ninth-place finish.
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