It all started so well at the London Stadium for Sam Allardyce’s Leeds United. They took the lead inside 17 minutes as Rodrigo capitalised on Leeds’ early dominance, volleying Weston McKennie’s long throw home.
As things stood at the time, the goal was enough to see Leeds clamber out of the bottom three and those supporters nervously watching on were, all of a sudden, filled with optimism that Leeds could kick on and claim the three points they so desperately needed. What followed, though, was sadly all too familiar.
Leeds struggled to push on in the minutes after the goal and found themselves retreating to their own penalty area as West Ham responded to going behind. Just 15 minutes after taking the lead United were being pegged back and from that point on only one team looked capable of coming out on top.
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That team wasn’t Leeds and they eventually crumbled to a 3-1 defeat in a game that was seen as a huge opportunity for them to breathe life into their survival hopes. West Ham seemed to find things alarmingly easy at times as Leeds simply failed to provide a suitable challenge after taking the lead.
In many ways, the defeat at West Ham seemed to epitomise Leeds’ season and why the club find themselves in the mess they are currently in. Sunday represented the 10th time that Leeds had failed to win after scoring the first goal in a game this season.
Leads have thrown away leads far too feebly and that was no different in east London, doing little to prevent West Ham from seizing control of the contest. Some stats highlighted on Twitter by @LUFCDATA further underline how weak Leeds have been when in front.
An eye-watering total of 32 goals have been conceded during games in which United have scored the first goal, with two more goals being conceded on 11 occasions. Sunday was one of those occasions.
Leeds have conceded 14 equalisers throughout the 2022-23 campaign, four more than any other side, while already relegated Southampton are the only team who have led for less time on average this time. The Saints have managed to lead for an average of just 12.2 minutes, Leeds’ average stands at 14.3 minutes.
The numbers don’t make for pretty reading, but given Leeds are also in possession of the most porous defensive line in the division, they’re not particularly surprising. Such a pattern created the chaos which characterised Jesse Marsch’s reign at Elland Road, while Javi Gracia was unable to find the answers as form nosedived under his guidance.
It’s exactly why Leeds find themselves in the damning position they’re in and right now, Allardyce is discovering that old habits die hard.
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