Leeds 0 Aston Villa 3: Philippe Coutinho and Co run riot at Elland Road as Jesse Marsch’s miserable start continues
THE only surprise was that the locals didn’t join in with Aston Villa taunts of ‘Leeds are falling apart again’. Mind you, most of the angry home fans were either stomping off into the night or too busy singing Marcelo Bielsa’s name when Aston Villa’s third went in. What a nightmare this is already turning […]
THE only surprise was that the locals didn’t join in with Aston Villa taunts of ‘Leeds are falling apart again’.
Mind you, most of the angry home fans were either stomping off into the night or too busy singing Marcelo Bielsa’s name when Aston Villa’s third went in.
What a nightmare this is already turning into for Jesse Marsch.
Replacing a hero like Bielsa, two straight defeats is not the way to endear yourself.
Leeds have now lost six in a row, equalling a club record set in February 2004.
That season they went down, never to be seen again in the top flight for 16 years.
Given their form, and just how bad they were here, you won’t find many worried Leeds punters betting against relegation now.
They are two points off Burnley in 18th but have played two more games.
Norwich on Sunday is as must-win as it gets but, based on this, there really are no guarantees.
Philippe Coutinho got Villa up and running midway through the first half before Matty Cash and Calum Chambers capitalised on some horror defending after the break.
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It’s three straight wins for Steven Gerrard’s side, but they rarely needed to get out of second gear to swat Leeds aside.
If they look marginally better at the back under Marsch than they were under Bielsa, there’s really not much in it – and they have become completely blunted in attack.
This is their fourth consecutive match without scoring, something they have not managed in the Premier League since 1994/95.
In the programme, Angus Kinnear wrote: “We believe he (Marsch) is the man to continue our aggressive trajectory.”
Problem is, that’s very much looking like a downwards trajectory right now.
When New York Red Bulls manager, Marsch drew 2-2 against an LA Galaxy side featuring Gerrard in 2016 during the Liverpool legend’s swansong.
Both bosses made one change from last weekend with Adam Forshaw replacing Mateusz Klich in Leeds’ midfield, while Villa left-back Lucas Digne was in for Ashley Young.
Introduced before kick-off, Marsch was given a warm reception as he clenched his fists to the crowd.
Eighty seconds in and all four corners were chanting for their messiah Bielsa.
But 20 minutes later they were silenced when Coutinho slotted home off defender Pascal Struijk.
Marauding down the left, Digne’s dangerous low ball just evaded the outstretched Ollie Watkins.
Matty Cash retrieved it on the right and found the unmarked Coutinho at the top of the box.
His first-time effort was hardly caught flush and would have been meat and drink for Illan Meslier – only for it to deflect off Struijk and over the Frenchman.
Villa’s first real chance but the least they deserved having bossed it from the off, it quickly became just a matter of when they would double the lead.
If there were positives to take in defeat from Marsch’s first game, at Leicester, there was nothing to be impressed with last night.
Misplaced passes, a lack of movement and some shocking defending combined to leave Elland Road grumpy, agitated and booing at the end.
And they had Meslier to thank for keeping the score down before the break – first scrambling to his right to save Douglas Luiz’s free-kick before getting down to his left superbly to deny John McGinn’s low curler.
They failed to muster a single shot in the opening 45 minutes, leaving Marsch hooking the ineffectual record signing Rodrigo for young striker Joe Gelhardt.
And it worked a treat initially as Leeds looked closer to scoring in the opening minute of the second half than they had the whole of the first.
Gelhardt had their first shot, weak and straight at Emiliano Martinez, 53 minutes in.
And there was hope in the Yorkshire again five minutes later when Patrick Bamford replaced Jack Harrison for his first sighting since early December.
But 66 minutes in and it was game set and match when Cash fired Villa into a 2-0 lead.
Out on the left touchline, Danny Ings surely couldn’t have believed what he was seeing when he looked into the box to find Cash in so much space.
Junio Firpo was nowhere near and the cross was inch-perfect, allowing Cash to control it and step inside before smashing it past Meslier.
Villa had stepped it off after the break, but this was them at their clinical best.
Seven minutes later and there was a mass exodus when defender Callum Chambers really took the biscuit by bending a stunner into the top corner.
Leeds failed to clear a free-kick and the ball dropped to Mings on the right of the box, who layed the ball off.
And Chambers is almost certain to never score a better goal, curling a stunner into the top left corner from the top of the box beyond the despairing Meslier.
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