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Leeds United claimed their first Premier League win at Goodison Park when Raphinha’s late stun knocked out Everton 1-0 in an opportunity-filled but goalless game in Saturday night football.
In a match that saw the two teams create a total of 38 goal attempts, the Brazilian produced the decisive quality moment by opening his Leeds account with a brilliant effort drilled into the bottom corner with 11 minutes remaining.
Everton, who had two offside goals disallowed in the first half, were indebted to goalkeeper Jordan Pickford’s saves for keeping them in the game the entire time they were there, but Raphinha’s goal condemned the Toffees to a fourth loss in five as I missed my chance to climb to third place in the Premier League.
For Leeds, their first victory at Goodison Park since 1990 ends a three-match winless streak and sees Marcelo Bielsa’s team climb to 14 points, two behind Carlo Ancelotti’s team.
How Leeds finally got the job done at Everton
Leeds were sharp from the start and should have taken the lead in the first minute when Raphinha played behind makeshift left-back Alex Iwobi, but his effort from under Pickford was cleared before reaching the goal.
It was an early indication of things to come, with both sides guilty of wasting a string of chances in a vibrant first half that had it all but one goal.
Abdoulaye Doucoure pulled a good save from Leeds goalkeeper Illan Meslier in the seventh minute, but suspecting the defense from Everton’s makeshift defense four saw Jack Harrison push at the end of a wide counter, but dragged a deflected shot to the near post.
Leeds’ chances kept coming, and Pickford’s extended leg prevented Patrick Bamford from another goal midway through the half.
Everton responded and had the ball into Leeds’ net in the 24th minute, but James Rodriguez’s brilliant shot from an acute angle was ruled out by a marginal offside. Moments later, Michael Keane should have found the back of the net, but couldn’t keep his header off the arc after hitting James’ free throw.
The game continued to ebb and flow, momentum returning in Leeds’s favor, but they again found Pickford in inspired form as he ripped Raphinha’s looping header off the line before Bamford fired the continuation.
Mason Holgate sent a direct volley to Meslier from six yards before VAR denied Everton again, with Ben Godfrey penalized for interfering in play from an offside position when Richarlison’s header was disallowed with chalk.
There was still time before the half was over for Leeds to threaten again, with Harrison sending a header that slammed into the post and Mateusz Klich firing inches wide.
The frantic pace continued after the break with Dominic Calvert-Lewin, Klich and Allan recording all goal attempts, before Meslier spared his own blushes by backing off in time to avoid James’ overhead shot after the Everton forward intercepted. a deflected pass from the goalkeeper from the goal. back.
Bamford thought he had given Leeds the lead in the 66th minute when he hit the ball from six yards, but the linesman flag came to Everton’s rescue this time, with Ezgjan Alioski offside in preparation.
But, which cannot be denied for much longer, Leeds finally made the breakthrough in the 79th minute when Raphinha’s crisp momentum went through Godfrey’s legs and past Pickford’s dive.
Alioski and Helder Costa should have finished the game with glorious late chances, but the damage was done when Leeds claimed a well-deserved victory that nearly escaped them.
Opta stats: Opportunities galore at Goodison
- Leeds have posted their first league win away from Everton since August 1990 (3-2), having failed to win any of their 13 previous trips to Goodison Park in league competition before today.
- Everton have lost consecutive games against Leeds in all competitions for the first time since December 1991.
- Leeds have won as many Premier League away games in 2020-21 (3) as they did in the entirety of 2003-04 (their previous top flight campaign), while keeping a clean sheet consecutively in the competition for the first time since January 2003.
- Everton have lost back-to-back Premier League home games for the first time since September 2019, which also involved losses to a Manchester side (Man City) and a Yorkshire side (Sheffield United) on that occasion.
- 35 of the 88 Brazilian players who will play in the Premier League have scored at least once from outside the box (40%), the highest proportion for any country that has had more than 50 players in the competition.
- Raphinha’s goal was the fourth Everton conceded from outside the box in the Premier League this season; No team has conceded more (like Aston Villa), while only Aston Villa (4) have scored more goals from outside the box than Leeds (3).
- In the Premier League this season, only Aston Villa vs Leeds in October (39) has seen more shots than today’s encounter between Everton and Leeds (38), while Raphinha’s win for Leeds was the 35th attempt of the game.
What the managers said …
Everton Manager Carlo Ancelotti: “I don’t mean to say that the game was not good. The game was difficult, but with more efficiency we could have won. They got a goal at the end. We could have scored earlier, they could have scored earlier. In the end they won because they got the goal first.
“We knew they played like that. In the first half we had more problems defensively. In the second half we were better and we had chances. We conceded a little less, but in the end they scored.
“Tom Davies was in a new position, Alex Iwobi was in a new position. In the second half we were more compact and we didn’t fit in much. There are important players at the moment, but we have to manage this.”
Leeds Head Coach Marcelo bielsa: “It was a very entertaining match. The result was fair. The performance of our team was satisfactory. It was very difficult to defend ourselves from their forwards who are very good.
“Raphinha has adapted very quickly to the Premier League. Victor Orta [Leeds’ director of football] He anticipated that he had the characteristics to play in the Premier League. You were right to choose it. “
Man of the match – Kalvin Phillips
Jamie Carragher from Sky Sports:
“Kalvin Phillips is Man of the Match. He was outstanding. It was a really great team performance, but Everton never made it.”
Graeme Souness from Sky Sports:
“He has a good passing range, he never seems to get nervous when he gets the ball under pressure in his third defense. He doesn’t panic and he rarely gives it away. There are a lot of things he likes about him.”
Whats Next?
Everton will travel to Burnley in the Premier League on Saturday at 12.30pm, before Leeds head to Chelsea on Saturday night football at 8 pm – live on Sky Sports Premier League.
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