Leeds run riot and go back top of the league with a 2-0 victory over Ipswich

Leeds United started the match in the famous Marcelo Bielsa 3-3-1-3 with Kalvin Phillips dropping back into the back three with Gaetano Berardi and Liam Cooper, while Gjanni Alioski and Luke Ayling were deployed as wing-backs. Mateusz Klich played a little further back then he would normally play, leaving Samu Saiz as the enganche with Kemar Roofe, Pablo Hernandez, and Jack Harrison up front.

Leeds looked pretty good in the first few minutes of the match, creating a few chances and generally looking a lot more comfortable on the ball. Both Leeds and Ipswich Town had players yellow carded early, with Ipswich’s Jon Nolan seeing yellow about five minutes and then, worryingly, Berardi was yellow carded in the 16th minute.

Leeds grabbed the lead after a well worked attacking play. Saiz played the ball out to Hernandez who had acres of space and he put a perfectly placed cross into the six-yard box for Kemar Roofe to hammer home.

Berardi would go down with injury in the 27th minute, forcing a change. Stuart Dallas would come into the match, meaning that Ayling would be forced to shift into the back three and Dallas would slot in at right back.

Despite only being up a goal, Ipswich never really looked to challenge Leeds in the first half. Leeds had a few chances that went begging, but otherwise were in control, but not dangerous.

That all changed in the second half.

Leeds took the game by the scruff of the neck in the second half, putting on a clinical performance.

Leeds subbed on Tom Pearce and Adam Forshaw in the 58th minute for Jack Harrison and Samu Saiz, as Bielsa went all-in before the hour mark, using up all his subs in order to spur a little more attacking flair in the side. Alioski moved up to play left wing with Pearce coming in to play at left-back.

Leeds finally got the second goal in the 65th minute, but it had been brewing for at least 15 minutes or so. Cooper got the ball at the top of the box after a sublime dummy by Kalvin Phillips to free the skipper and Cooper made no mistake, putting a shot into the top right-hand corner with a powerful shot with his “weaker” right-foot. A finish truly worthy of the play off of the corner kick.

The flood gates seemed to open after the second goal, as the Leeds players started to pepper the Ipswich keeper with shots, making the final 20 minutes or so into a shooting gallery. The magical effort from Alioski that careened off the post was perhaps the greatest shot this year for Leeds that did not end up as a goal, and Leeds easily could have put another three goals past Ipswich keeper Bartosz Białkowski, although none of them would have been the fault of the Polish keeper.

Leeds ran riot and went back top of the league for at least until the weekend, when Leeds will host Nottingham Forest and Ipswich will have to try and get a win away at Millwall.