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West Ham moved up to fifth place in the Premier League table as header goals from Tomas Soucek and Angelo Ogbonna secured a 2-1 win at Leeds on Friday night football.
Leeds took an early lead when Mateusz Klich (5) scored from the penalty spot in the second half of asking after VAR had missed Lukasz Fabianski, who dropped Patrick Bamford to give away the penalty, to be out of his line to save the initial. penalty fee.
However, the hosts ‘set-piece problems continued to plague them as Soucek set the Hammers’ level in the 25th minute, before Ogbonna sealed the three points with 10 minutes remaining.
The victory sees David Moyes’ team jump to fifth place, four points behind league leaders Tottenham and second place from Liverpool. Meanwhile, Leeds remains 14th after a sixth loss of the season.
How West Ham came from behind to stun Leeds …
Leeds got off to a perfect start, Liam Cooper’s pass split the West Ham defense to clear Bamford and Fabianski dropped him.
The Polish goalkeeper thought he had redeemed himself by saving compatriot Klich’s poor effort, but VAR intervened when replays showed he was out of line, and Klich was not wrong with the repeated penalty to give the hosts the advantage.
West Ham responded well to going back and Sebastien Haller should have done better with a header before turning and shooting straight at Illan Meslier, while at the other end Rodrigo missed the target after being intercepted by a Jack Harrison cross.
The visitors found a draw in the 25th minute when Soucek received a corner kick from Jarrod Bowen at the far post and his header was too strong for Meslier.
Rodrigo then turned down another great opportunity for Leeds to regain their lead, but after cutting from the right, he shot straight at Fabianski, who made a comfortable save as the sides were even at the break.
Marcelo Bielsa was clearly not happy with what he saw in the first 45 minutes and made two changes at halftime, Jack Harrison and Gjanni Alioski giving way to Helder Costa and Jamie Shackleton.
Shackleton went straight into the action, choosing Bamford, who fired wide around the corner, before Luke Ayling’s block ensured Haller’s shot was flipped over, before Meslier flipped a header from the Hammers forward over the top crossbar.
Kalvin Phillips then fired a deflected shot as Leeds appeared to upset the visitors on the other end, while Fabianski had to make a smart save to avoid Klich’s powerful half volley.
But it was West Ham who finished with the stronger of the two sides and seemed the most likely to take all three points.
A perfect pass from Declan Rice released Pablo Fornals and the midfielder’s shot slipped inches from the far post. Meslier then made an impressive one-handed save to avoid Fabián Balbuena’s bullet header from close range.
However, Meslier ran out of chances in the 80th minute when Ogbonna’s header, which came from a cross by Aaron Cresswell after a careless foul by Costa, took the top corner to seal the victory.
Man of the Match – Declan Rice
Sky sports‘ Andy Hinchcliffe: “He has been absolutely exceptional. Defensively, as always, very confident, but he also advanced with good results.”
Opta stats: Leeds home struggles continue
- Leeds United have lost their last two league games despite scoring the first goal in each; it is the first time he has lost despite opening the scoring in consecutive Premier League games.
- Leeds suffered their third loss in six Premier League home games this season (1 loss, 2 draws), as many as they suffered in 23 championship games at Elland Road in the entirety of the 2019-20 season (15 wins, 5 draws, 3 defeats).
- West Ham has earned 20 points in its 12 league games this season (six wins, two losses, four losses); Only in 2015-16 did they reach the 20-point mark earlier in a Premier League campaign (10 matches).
- No team has scored more set pieces (excluding pens) than West Ham United (8, tied with Chelsea) in this season’s Premier League, while no team has conceded more in such situations than Leeds United ( 7, tied with Leicester City).
- West Ham manager David Moyes has won four of his five Premier League games against Leeds (D1); He has faced whites more unbeaten than any other rival in the competition, while his 80% win ratio against them is the highest of any team he has faced at least four times in the season. division.
Whats Next?
Leeds United will be back in action on Wednesday when they host Newcastle at 6pm, as will West Ham, who host Crystal Palace for the 8pm kick-off at London Stadium.
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