Here are your Leeds United morning headlines on Tuesday, March 22.
Shearer names Premier League TOTW
Former Newcastle United striker Alan Shearer has named two Leeds United players in his Premier League Team of the Week. Luke Ayling and Kristoffer Klaesson have both been selected in Shearer's best XI for Gameweek 30, while Jesse Marsch is the manager of the side.
This is after Leeds' dramatic 3-2 win over Wolverhampton Wanderers last Friday, where the duo played a huge role in a vital three points for the Whites. It was a victory that lifted Leeds seven points clear of the relegation zone with eight crucial matches to play.
Ayling scored the winner with an instinctive finish and was credited with an assist for the Whites' opening goal after his effort was initially cleared off the line. Meanwhile, Klaesson came on for his Leeds debut with half an hour to play and he made a couple of outstanding saves to prevent Wolves from scoring.
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On a weekend where there were only four league games due to the FA Cup quarter-final, Shearer had just eight teams to pick from when selecting his side. Arsenal had the most players chosen on the list (4), with Ben White, Gabriel, Thomas Partey and Bukayo Saka selected following their 1-0 win over Aston Villa.
Tottenham Hotspur duo Harry Kane and Heung-min Son led the line after directly combining for two goals in a 3-1 victory against West Ham United. James Maddison, Timothy Castagne and Francisco Trincao made up the XI.
Gallagher disagrees with Jimenez red card
Former Premier League referee Dermot Gallagher believes that Kevin Friend made the wrong decision to send off Raul Jimenez in Leeds United's 3-2 win over Wolverhampton Wanderers on Friday night. The Mexican was given a second yellow card for a late challenge on Illan Meslier.
The incident proved to be a turning point in the context of the game after Wolves led 2-0 thanks to first-half goals from Jonny Otto and Francisco Trincao. However, Jimenez's 53rd-minute dismissal tipped the momentum Leeds' way and Jesse Marsch's side took full advantage of having an extra man.
Jack Harrison pulled a goal back with a neat finish, before Rodrigo levelled moments later. And the Whites completed the turnaround when Luke Ayling slotted home to cause delirium in the away end at Molineux.
But Jimenez's red card has sparked some debate amongst the footballing community given the effect it had on the game. Gallagher has delivered his verdict on the decision and claimed that Friend made the wrong call.
Clear points tally needed to stay up
Leeds United moved on to 29 points with their incredible 3-2 victory over Wolverhampton Wanderers on Friday evening. The Whites are now seven points clear of the bottom three, although all four sides below them do have at least one game in hand.
Jesse Marsch’s side showed a superb amount of character to secure their second consecutive victory in the Premier League. Leeds lost Patrick Bamford, Diego Llorente, Mateusz Klich (concussion) and Illan Meslier were all forced off inside the opening 55 minutes.
But Leeds refused to let their heads drop and took advantage of the carrot that was dangled in front of them when Raul Jimenez saw red. They were able to come back from 2-0 down to defeat Wolves 3-2 thanks to goals from Jack Harrison, Rodrigo Moreno and Luke Ayling, in what will be a bitter blow to the sides below them, particularly after Everton’s 90+9 victory just 24 hours earlier.
When on the topic of relegation, the 40-point mark is often referenced as where you need to get to in order to secure survival. But in all honesty, it has been a long time since that has been required and it looks as though it will be the same this season, too. With that in mind, here is a look at the number of points teams finishing 18th in the table have achieved in the last five seasons.
