EPL

Bielsa's time at Leeds comes to an end after Tottenham defeat

By Sports Desk February 27, 2022

Leeds United have parted ways with Marcelo Bielsa, in the wake of their 4-0 thrashing by Tottenham on Saturday.

The defeat came at the end of a dire week in which Leeds suffered a 4-2 home defeat to rivals Manchester United and a 6-0 hammering by Liverpool at Anfield, leaving them mired in a battle to retain their Premier League status.

Leeds are winless in six Premier League matches since beating West Ham United in mid-January, having lost five of those games, conceding 21 goals, meaning fan favourite Bielsa's reign has been brought to an end, after over three-and-a-half seasons in the Elland Road dugout.

The news was confirmed on Sunday in a statement released on the club's official website.

"This has been the toughest decision I have had to make during my tenure at Leeds United, taking into account all the success Marcelo has had at the club," said Leeds owner Andrea Radrizzani.

"With Marcelo as our head coach, we had three incredible campaigns and the good times returned to Elland Road. He changed the culture of the club and brought a winning mentality to us all.

"The moments created, particularly in the 2019-20 season and winning promotion to the Premier League, will of course live long in all our memories, myself and the fans included.

"However, I have to act in the best interest of the club and I believe a change is required now in order to secure our Premier League status. Recent results and performances have not met our expectations.

"We find ourselves in a precarious league position and I feel now is the right time to bring in a new head coach, in order to have an impact in the decisive stage of the season.

"Naturally, myself, along with everyone else at the club would like to thank Marcelo for his efforts and achievements and we wish him the very best for the future."

Bielsa had earlier insisted that he was the right man to keep Leeds in the division despite the run of heavy defeats, telling BBC Sport: "I always have confidence in what I can do."

However, Leeds' dire defensive record, which has seen them ship 60 goals in just 26 league outings, has forced Radrizzani to act, with former RB Leipzig boss Jesse Marsch widely considered a leading candidate to replace Bielsa, who according to director of football Victor Orta has "created a legacy" at the club.

Leeds are aiming to make an announcement on the new appointment on Monday.

Bielsa enjoyed success in his first three seasons at Elland Road, narrowly missing out on promotion to the Premier League at the end of the 2018-19 season, before ending their 16-year absence from the top flight by securing promotion one year later.

Upon their return to the big time, Leeds' swashbuckling style of football saw them secure a surprise ninth-placed finish, but Bielsa's team found the going far harder this campaign, with injuries to key players including Kalvin Phillips and Patrick Bamford not helping.

Related items

  • Real Madrid hit Twente for seven, five-star Wolfsburg also win big Real Madrid hit Twente for seven, five-star Wolfsburg also win big

    Real Madrid had six different goalscorers as they trounced Twente 7-0 in the Women's Champions League on Wednesday, while Wolfsburg beat Galatasaray 5-0.

    Signe Bruun opened the scoring three minutes into the Group B encounter at the Estadio Alfredo Di Stefano, then Maria Mendez's header gave Madrid a 2-0 half-time lead.

    Madrid, who had won one and lost one of their opening two games in the tournament, got a third through Naomie Feller five minutes into the second half, then Caroline Weir made it 4-0 with a brilliant free-kick.

    Mendez headed home her second of the encounter shortly after the hour mark, while Oihane Hernandez and Carla Camacho got on the scoresheet late on to complete the rout.

    The victory took Madrid second in the Group B standings ahead of Chelsea's trip to Celtic.

    Wolfsburg were also convincing victors in Group A, getting off the mark for this season's competition as Rebecka Blomqvist scored a hat-trick in their 5-0 thrashing of Galatasaray.

    The Bundesliga side – who failed to pick up a point or score a goal in their opening two matches – had a narrow 1-0 lead at half-time through Joelle Wedemeyer, before Blomqvist took centre-stage in the second period.

    She tapped home after Janina Minge struck the crossbar, then added her second goal in the 77th minute and her third six minutes into stoppage time.

    Vivien Endemann powered home a fifth for Wolfsburg one minute later, as they provisionally moved within three points of Lyon and Roma ahead of their meeting.

  • Taylor pleased with City's physical test during Hammarby win Taylor pleased with City's physical test during Hammarby win

    Manchester City head coach Gareth Taylor was pleased with how his team stood up to the physical challenge of Hammarby in their 2-0 Champions League victory on Tuesday.

    City's win extended their unbeaten start to the season, having won every game in all competitions following a 2-2 draw against Arsenal on opening day.

    “Difficult game for us, physical challenge, a physical team in Hammarby. I think they outnumber us a little bit in terms of size, considering when you look at our midfield. But I thought the girls handled it really well," Taylor said after the game

    “I thought we dominated the game. In the early parts we were just a little bit off in our final action. We just needed to speed up a little bit in terms of being on the end of it, and we spoke about that at half-time, and we score with Laura getting into that type of position we’d been talking about.

    “[The physicality was something] we were prepared for, but dealing with it is a different thing. Having Bunny [Khadija Shaw] and Alanna [Kennedy] on the pitch, two of our more physical players, is really important, particularly for set-plays.

    “At 1-0 we were defending a couple of scenarios like that, Yama [Ayaka Yamashita] making a really good save at one point. Then Aoba [Fujino] got the goal that maybe allowed us to change things up a little bit more, get some people off that we’d like to manage.

    “I think the girls have dealt with it really well tonight. We expected it, we thought it would be difficult, and they rose to the challenge.”

    The victory leaves City top of their Champions League group with a 100% record after three matches, three points above second-placed Barcelona.

    Taylor had made changes to City's starting XI, with Lauren Hemp among the trio to drop out from the weekend and she did not feature in the squad. Ahead of their weekend game against Chelsea, who are second in the WSL, Taylor explained the reasoning behind Hemp's absence.

    “We’ve just got an issue with Lauren that we just need to analyse a little bit further, that’s all," he said.

    “It’s something that potentially happened in the Palace game [on 3 November]. She was able to play in the Tottenham game [last Friday] but wasn’t able to tonight, so we’ll just take a little bit longer to assess and find out more.

    “Hopefully [she can play against Chelsea]. There’s an opportunity there, we’ll just have to take a moment tomorrow, have a good conversation and find out where we’re at with the medical staff.”

     

  • 'It's been a long time,' says McKenna after Ipswich stun Tottenham for first league win 'It's been a long time,' says McKenna after Ipswich stun Tottenham for first league win

    Ipswich Town boss Kieran McKenna said it was a 'special' moment for the club after they earned their first Premier League win of the season by beating Tottenham 2-1. 

    Sammie Szmodics and Liam Delap scored for Ipswich before half-time at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. 

    Though Tottenham reduced the deficit through Rodrigo Bentancur in the 69th minute, the Tractor Boys held on for a famous win. 

    It was also Ipswich's first win in the Premier League since a 1-0 victory over Middlesborough in April 2002, ending a run of 12 away games without a win (D3 L9).

    "I am so proud. It's been a long time for the club, 22 years since the supporters saw a win in the Premier League. The journey to get to here has been a big one," McKenna told BBC Sport after the game. 

    "It feels a bit special today. We believe we’ve been improving. We had picked up five out of 10 results but were waiting for the first win to validate the work and improvements. It’s a massive moment, one to cherish."

    The result was extra special for an Ipswich side, who were denied a win by Leicester City last week through a 94th-minute equaliser from Jordan Ayew, who made it 1-1 at Portman Road.

    But Szmodics and Delap – the latter with his sixth Premier League goal of the season – struck in the first half to give Ipswich a two-goal cushion. 

© 2024 SportsMaxTV All Rights Reserved.