Great to watch but still pointless

Leeds are made to pay by Antonio

LEEDS UNITED might have to stop playing basketball if they are to land some three-pointers this season. For the first time since 1935 they have gone six top-flight matches without victory from the onset of a campaign.

West Ham boss David Moyes was right when he said they are entertaining to watch. But what is great fun on grass makes for grim reading on paper — for Leeds are now in the bottom three.

Yes, the football is fast, furious and fun in these parts, but the locals are invariably left with sad faces come the end. And so it was that Michail Antonio killed the mood inside Elland Road with a typically unforgiving finish to win a contest that was more akin to the pandemonium of a playground — the hosts can certainly do schoolboy defending at times.

‘You can see why people want to watch Leeds,’ said Moyes. ‘You end up getting sucked into a similar game as them. Once they break on you, you just want to do the same back. It was like basketball. Not many teams in the world play football like Leeds.’

That last comment was intended as a compliment, no doubt. But basketball teams are conditioned to concede scores of points each week, and likewise Leeds are giving up countless chances.

The buzzer was not far from sounding when Antonio punished them in the final minute. That’s five Premier League goals from as many games for the striker this season, and the Hammers are unbeaten with him in the team. As Antonio later came to reflect in front of the pitchside TV cameras, some home fans branded him a ‘cheat’ who should not have been on the field to score the winner, reference to an arm in the face of Illan Meslier for which he was booked.

In truth, Leeds had cheated themselves out of victory after producing, in the first half at least, their best football of the season. They led at half-time through Raphinha and the roar from the home support at the break just about equated to the energy exerted by their heroes on the field.

But amid the noise of this raucous old stadium comes confusion and a Leeds team short of cohesion. Marcelo Bielsa preferred to take the positives — there were plenty.

‘A succession of bad results, the absence of points, the position in the table, they are all factors that affect the morale of any team,’ he said. ‘But when the performance is not negative, the recovery is more probable.’

West Ham started the first half with real menace.

They ended it grateful for the sanctuary of the away dressing room.

Leeds can do that to the opposition at their best.

Yes, they were lucky to make it to 10 minutes at 0-0 —but thereafter they had West Ham in a spin.

Their opening goal did, however, owe much to the clumsiness of West Ham midfielder Tomas Soucek, who as good as tackled himself inside his own half before allowing Rodrigo to steal on 19 minutes. He found Mateusz Klich, who in turn rolled to Raphinha to steer home first time from 18 yards.

Twice inside a frenetic opening Meslier saved to deny first Antonio and then Said Benrahma. He was needed again in first-half injury time when Pablo Fornals was sent clear only for the French keeper to block bravely at his feet.

Soucek celebrated like a relieved man on 52 minutes when he poked in from close range. Maybe he and referee Kevin Friend were the only ones who had missed Antonio’s arm in the face of Meslier as the ball dropped in the goalmouth, and this was always going to be disallowed once Stockley Park pressed rewind. Leeds should have been two up on 64 minutes but Klich wanted too much time and saw his 10-yard stab skid wide. They paid the price three minutes later when Jarrod Bowen cut in from the right and his shot took two deflections off Liam Cooper and Junior Firpo before wrong-footing Meslier for 1-1.

And Meslier was again left helpless in the 90th minute when Declan Rice found Antonio steaming through the middle unattended. He negotiated the challenge of fullback Jamie Shackleton and tucked into the bottom corner.

Moyes, somewhat ominously for their rivals, admitted: ‘His finish was magic, but I don’t think it was one of his better games.’

Leeds, by contrast, are playing well and losing.