Leeds United suffered a huge blow in its chase for automatic promotion to the Premier League this afternoon. After a season of dominant performances in the Championship, the business end of the campaign hasn't been so kind to the West Yorkshire giants.
Out of its last seven games, Leeds has only won three and lost four. One of its defeats came against fellow promotion chasers Sheffield United, who've now pulled ahead by three points in second place, and another loss came last week against Wigan Athletic. That defeat came when Leeds had the opportunity to go level on points with Sheffield.
Leeds needed three points today to even think about finishing in the top two (the automatic promotion places) come May. While Sheffield beat Hull City comfortably 3-0 to keep its place in second, Leeds lost to fifteenth-placed Brentford 2-0 to stay third.
A win today could’ve put Leeds in second, ahead of Sheffield on goal difference.
The match looked routine enough for Leeds and manager Marcelo Bielsa. Leeds saw a lot of the ball, created more chances and had more shots, but Brentford took its chances and came away with the three points. While the result was cruel, Leeds was poor and had only one player with a match rating over six. Even though Leeds could have been awarded a penalty in the first half, it wouldn’t have been enough to turn around the result.
Not for the first time in this club's recent history, have frozen and blown up over the Easter weekend. Too much damage, you'd think, to get back into the automatic promotion picture now. #lufc
— Phil Hay (@PhilHayYEP) April 22, 2019
LEEDS ARE FALLING APART AGAINNNNNNNNNNN pic.twitter.com/xH0PWjlXKl
— Jake Mann (@JakeNcfcMann11) April 22, 2019
Leeds now faces a tough task of regaining automatic promotion with two games to go — they play fellow promotion rivals Aston Villa this Sunday, which will likely be a deciding match.
Pablo Hernandez was very emotional at full-time. Bielsa: "Pablo deserved to finish first or second. He and the whole team, but especially him. I understand how he feels." #lufc
— Phil Hay (@PhilHayYEP) April 22, 2019
Leeds will then travel to relegated Ipswich a week later for its final match of the regular season. After flirting with promotion for years, Leeds still has a very good chance this season via the EFL Championship playoffs. However, the last few matches are crucial to end on a high note as a high morale is needed to survive the playoffs.
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