Leeds United’s Patrick Bamford looks firmly at home in the Premier League

THE perplexed expression of Marcelo Bielsa said it all.
Leeds United's Mateusz Klich scores his side's second goal. Pictures: PALeeds United's Mateusz Klich scores his side's second goal. Pictures: PA
Leeds United's Mateusz Klich scores his side's second goal. Pictures: PA

The Leeds United head coach may profess to having a limited command of English and still require the services of an interpreter, but when it was erroneously stated that his side had conceded six goals in their first two Premier League games in his post-match press conference, he jumped in.

“It is seven,” he instantly said – complete with a quizzical look.

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Do not let it be said that Bielsa is not his own man. He is not interested in Amazon Prime documentaries, gongs and garlands whatsoever, but what he makes it his business to be bothered about – make that obsessed – is the minutiae of football matches.

Leeds United's Patrick Bamford.Leeds United's Patrick Bamford.
Leeds United's Patrick Bamford.

He misses nothing and that is part of his genius.

The fact that Leeds recorded their first victory back in the big time since April 10, 2004 will have been inconsequential. His side’s relinquishing of a commanding three-goal lead from a position on high when the game should have been over was not.

After last weekend’s ‘basketball match’ at Anfield where one side attacked and the other followed, this was a very passable impersonation of a sequel which neutrals will have lapped up.

Leeds’ two Premier League matches in 2020-21 have featured 14 goals – seven for and seven against – with Bielsa’s box-office side already providing a nostalgic rewind to the last team who provided the top tier with a surfeit of entertainment, if not necessarily defensive order, in Kevin Keegan’s Newcastle United.

Leeds United's Helder Costa celebrates scoring his side's fourth goal.Leeds United's Helder Costa celebrates scoring his side's fourth goal.
Leeds United's Helder Costa celebrates scoring his side's fourth goal.
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On the last occasion that Elland Road staged a Premier League fixture some 5,978 days earlier in May, 2004, a six-goal feast transpired in a 3-3 draw. Saturday went one better, more’s the pity that no crowd was there.

The defensive deficiencies cannot be glossed over, but Leeds’ array of gifts going forward is surely the headline story.

Feted for their art last season if not necessarily for their goal-scoring output, Leeds have already mustered seven goals in 2020-21.

Patrick Bamford has already struck more goals that he previously managed in two Premier League seasons, while Helder Costa netted twice in game in England for the first time on Saturday. Four players have already scored for Leeds this season.

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A player who, according to many so-called experts, does not cut the mustard in the top-flight, Bamford seriously looks at home.

His unerring finish to put Leeds 3-1 up and his polished assist when he brushed aside Fulham’s Denis Odoi with consummate ease suggested that this is a player – arguably at his peak at 27 – who is making up for lost time.

Reflecting on a helter-skelter afternoon following on from a similar madcap occasion at Liverpool, Bamford – who came off with 20 minutes to go – said: “I feel like last weekend was kind of like a free hit.

“We were playing against the best team in the country and we kind of showed a good side of ourselves and there were positives and negatives.

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“But then this was obviously a crucial match against another team that came up last season and we wanted to win, but that was a little bit too close in the end.

“I think that there is going to be a few long meetings just to pick out what we can do better, but we won, that is the main thing.

“But watching from the sidelines is horrible. It was not a nice watch when I came off.”

It will not have been for Bielsa either. Although it should have.

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He will have been irked by the way in which Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa turned Kalvin Phillips and temporarily put him out of the game before supplying Bobby De Cordova-Reid for a smart second goal for Fulham.

The way in which Aleksandar Mitrovic – who had a far better time of it than he did on his last visit to LS11 – governed Liam Cooper, rising high and handsome above the Leeds captain to plant a header past Illan Meslier to make it 4-3 soon after will have also not have been to his liking.

Both Cooper and Robin Koch – who conceded a penalty for a second successive Saturday – struggled against Mitrovic and Premier League forwards everywhere will have been salivating at the prospect of facing the pair if they tuned into the highlights.

It proved an eventful day for Koch, who went close to his first goal for Leeds when his first-half header was tipped over.

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Unfortunately for him, his major impact came at the other end and lit the fuse to a riotous afternoon.

Comfortable at 1-0 up, thanks to a lethal early finish from Costa after Fulham dozed from Phillips’s corner, Leeds displayed charity when Koch injudiciously went to ground and caught Joe Bryan on the edge of the area.

Contact was slight – Koch attempted to pull out of the challenge at the last minute – but it convinced Kevin Friend and Mitrovic is not the sort of player to pass up on gifts from the spot.

Bryan’s silly nudge on Bamford soon levelled the penalty count, with Mateusz Klich slotting home and the fun had begun.

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The joke should have exclusively been on flaky Fulham when Leeds raced into a 4-1 lead shortly before the hour mark in devastating and beguiling fashion.

Deft movement from Bamford saw him latch on to Klich’s gorgeous pass before slotting the ball past Areola in a move straight from the training ground.

Bamford provided an encore to ease past Odoi and tee up Costa, whose drive was pure perfection.

That should have been that, only for Elland Road to conjure the sort of madcap occasion that has been its wont on sporadic occasions of yore.

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Unlike the previous week, Leeds came out on the right side.

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