Leeds’ relegation fears increased after Jefferson Lerma’s double helped Bournemouth virtually secure their own safety with a vital 4-1 home win.
The Cherries moved level with Chelsea on 39 points and 10 clear of the bottom three after Lerma’s brace was backed up by second-half strikes from Dominic Solanke and Antoine Semenyo.
It all but confirms Bournemouth will be a Premier League club next season and continues Gary O’Neil’s excellent debut campaign in the managerial hotseat.
For Leeds it is a very different story with Patrick Bamford’s first-half goal a mere consolation for Javi Gracia’s side, who remain 16th but are outside of the relegation zone by one point and face Manchester City and Newcastle during the next fortnight.
All eyes pre-match were on Gracia’s starting line-up and he listened to the vociferous calls from the Leeds faithful to start Willy Gnonto, but went with wing-backs for the first time and asked Jack Harrison to fill in on the left.
The visitors thought they had won a spot-kick after only four minutes when Bamford’s pass hit the hand of Matias Vina.
VAR quickly intervened after Christopher Kavanagh pointed to the spot and decided the incident took place outside the penalty area.
Marc Roca’s resulting free-kick was well saved by Neto but Leeds threatened again soon after when Crysencio Summerville got in down the right and teed up Harrison, who saw his effort blocked by Bournemouth defender Smith.
Gracia showed his frustration and the hosts eventually started to get going having won at Southampton on Thursday night.
Dango Ouattara, recalled in place of the injured Marcus Tavernier, saw a shot blocked by Cooper after he cut inside from the right side but Leeds did not heed that warning with the opener arriving after 20 minutes.
Solanke was next to get in down Leeds’ left and while Cooper thwarted Philip Billing’s effort, Lerma was first to the follow up and curled home sumptuously from 18-yards.
Lerma’s fourth goal of the campaign was quickly followed by another.
It was a moment to forget for under-fire Illan Meslier, who flapped at Ryan Christie’s corner and saw Lerma smash home from close-range to make it 2-0 in the 24th-minute.
Leeds and Gracia, having declared this a must-win fixture, were shell-shocked but a lifeline was provided eight minutes later.
Gnonto’s floated cross from the left was met by the unmarked Bamford, who powered home a header to partly make up for his late miss against Leicester in midweek.
One positive was quickly followed by a negative for the away side with captain Cooper forced off injured and Max Wober introduced.
Luke Ayling brought a action-packed first half to an end by blazing over from a tight angle and Leeds continued to push for a leveller after the break.
Summerville had a shot blocked before Weston McKennie volleyed over from Harrison’s free kick.
The next chance went to the influential Gnonto, but the Italian headed wide under pressure after Ayling had sent Harrison’s cross back across goal.
Bournemouth boss O’Neil had seen enough and made a double substitution just past the hour mark before just like in the first half Leeds were hit with a sucker-punch.
With their first attack of the second period, the Cherries made it 3-1 after Ouattara ran off Rasmus Kristensen and teed up Solanke, who took a touch and rifled home his sixth goal of the season after Robin Koch failed to clear.
Even before VAR confirmed Ouattara had been offside the Leeds away support chanted for sporting director Victor Orta to leave and the board to go with their relegation concerns increasing.
Bournemouth captain Neto was forced to deny Roca’s low strike soon after and made a fine double save from Koch and Gnonto in the 72nd-minute but Gracia watched his side concede again when Semenyo’s weak effort went through Meslier in stoppage-time to make it a fourth defeat in five games.
World Cup Girlz back in the fold? Gilbert hints at return of experienced players for Brazil friendlies
For the first time in almost nine months, it seems as if Jamaica’s interim Reggae Girlz Head coach Xavier Gilbert will have members of the World Cup squad at his disposal, when they visit Brazil for a two-match friendly international series in June.
The Girlz, who first locked horns with Brazil, and lost 0-3, at the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup in France, went one better at last year’s global showpiece in Australia, as they not only held the South American giants to a goalless stalemate, but also ensured their elimination at the group stage.
By all indications, that performance, and by extension, the fact that the Girlz made an historic appearance in the knockout stages of the World Cup, earned them even more respect from the number 10-ranked Brazilians, who are currently in preparation for this summer’s Olympic Games in Paris.
The games, scheduled for June 1 and 4, are expected to assist Brazil in their preparation, while the now 42nd-ranked Jamaicans will get a much-needed test to regain their appetite for international competition, having last sported the nationals colours against Canada last September.
Since that Olympic qualifying fixture in Canada, members of the World Cup squad withdrew their services from national representation, citing lack of payment and mistreatment from the Jamaica Football Federation (JFF), among their reasons.
While it is yet to be confirmed how many, if any, of the World Cup players will make the trip, Gilbert gave the clearest indication yet that there might be a few, as he welcomed the games, after not utilizing the last FIFA window.
“It is always important to secure games during the international window. It not only assists in exposing players, but it also ensures the team is active, which helps our rankings, and also our quality of play. Because as you know, the more we play together, especially against quality opponents, the better the team becomes, and we also get to work on different things both offensively and defensively,” Gilbert told SportsMax.TV.
“The expectation is for us to give a good account of ourselves, it has been a while since these players have played together, but the good thing is that they are actively engaged in their respective leagues in Europe and United States. So, it is not like they were inactive, and obviously, it is not the first time they will be playing together.
“So, we just have to keep things as simple or as close to what we did prior to, and during the World Cup, to make sure we are competitive. It is going to be a little bit different, but it’s not far-fetched that we can get another positive result against Brazil,” he added.
Atletico Madrid 3-1 Athletic Bilbao: Hosts close in on top-four finish
Atletico Madrid beat newly crowned Copa del Rey winners Athletic Bilbao 3-1 at home in LaLiga on Saturday as Diego Simeone's side moved a step closer to a top-four finish.
Fourth-placed Atletico moved onto 64 points and have increased their advantage over Athletic, in fifth, to six points with five games to play.
Midfielder Rodrigo de Paul put Atletico in front in the 15th minute with a goal from outside the box. After controlling an attempted clearance from the visitors, his effort dipped just under the bar as his strike deflected off one of the Athletic defenders.
Athletic levelled just before half-time through Nico Williams after Antoine Griezmann lost the ball through a careless pass.
But Angel Correa restored the lead for Atletico in the 52nd minute and later came close to scoring again.
With 10 minutes to play, away goalkeeper Unai Simon inadvertently made it 3-1 with an own goal after Samuel Lino’s effort came back off the post, ending any Athletic hopes of a comeback.
Hull City 3-3 Ipswich Town: Tigers fight back three times to deny Tractor Boys
Ipswich Town missed the chance to move into an automatic promotion spot as play-off-chasing Hull City came from behind three times in a thrilling 3-3 Championship draw at The MKM Stadium.
Ipswich knew a victory would take them second after Leeds United were surprisingly beaten 4-0 by Queens Park Rangers on Friday, and they led on three separate occasions, George Hirst opening the scoring before Omari Hutchinson produced two brilliant strikes from the edge of the area.
However, buoyed by slip-ups from rivals Norwich City and West Brom earlier on Saturday, Hull dug deep to fight back on each occasion, Ozan Tufan and Liam Delap scoring their first two equalisers.
With Liam Rosenior's men 3-2 down with just four minutes to play, substitute Noah Ohio blasted his shot in off the crossbar to punish an error from Ipswich goalkeeper Vaclav Hladky.
The result keeps Ipswich behind second-placed Leeds on goal difference, though the Tractor Boys have a game in hand to come at Coventry City on Tuesday.
Hull, meanwhile, are two points adrift of the top six, with Norwich's goal difference advantage meaning their top-six spot is all but assured. The Tigers will, however, leapfrog West Brom if they beat Plymouth Argyle on the final day and Albion lose to Preston North End.
Data Debrief: Hutchinson's best not enough
Hutchinson was a man who deserved to be on the winning side on Saturday, giving Ryan Allsop no chance with two near-identical left-footed strikes from the right corner of the penalty area.
His goals came from an expected goals (xG) total of just 0.6, and he led all players on the pitch for shots (eight) and passes in the final third (21), also laying on three chances for his team-mates.
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