Pundit roasts Leeds for ‘weak link’ making it easy for teams to beat them

Tomas Soucek scores v Leeds United

Noel Whelan has admitted Leeds will continue to struggle to climb the Premier League table if they don’t quickly address an obvious Achilles heel.

The Yorkshire side are back in the Premier League after a 16-year absence and have won admirers for their exciting brand of football.

However, Friday’s defeat to West Ham was their sixth in 12 games and fourth in the last six.

After the match, an honest Marcelo Bielsa was left to make this frank admission about his side’s performance.

It all started well for Leeds against David Moyes’ side with a twice-taken Mateusz Klich penalty handing them an early lead.

However, two set plays proved their undoing with Tomas Soucek and Angelo Ogbonna heading home to lift the Hammers up to fifth.

And Whelan admits that unless Leeds manage to tighen up at the back, they will struggle to claim wins.

Speaking to Football Insider, he even conceded that Leeds had been “embarrassed” at how easy it is for teams to expose the flaw.

“We are playing some brilliant football and it’s so good to watch, huge credit to Bielsa for that,” Whelan said.

“We’re giving every team in the league a run for their money. But it’s going to be very difficult to climb the league and close down these games if we don’t tighten up on defending set pieces.

“It’s our weakest link. We’ve conceded the most goals in the league from set pieces and that needs to be addressing by drilling and practice on the training ground.

“We’re not the biggest side anyway and West Ham are a huge one. But they know how to score against us, and that makes it too easy for these top sides.

“We’ve spent a lot of money on new centre-back and they’re out injured for a long time. So it comes down to practice.

“Otherwise it will keep happening and we will keep getting embarrassed on set pieces.”


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Leeds hopeful on new Alioski deal

Leeds, meanwhile, are hopeful that Ezgjan Alioski will put pen-to-paper on a new deal before the January transfer window opens.

Alioski has continued to be a regular for the Whites the season following their promotion to the Premier League. He has featured in 10 of his side’s 12 games so far, featuring at left-back and left midfield.

Alioski Leeds United TEAMtalk

But with the player in the final year of his contract, he is free to negotiate terms with overseas suitors from January 1.

However, Leeds hope to keep Alioski with a new four-year deal worth £30,000 a week.

Negotiations shouldn’t be too difficult for Leeds as Alioski has publicly stated he would like to stay in West Yorkshire.

He told BBC West Yorkshire Sport: “Still nothing has happened. I am here, of course, until my contract ends next year.

“But I am not thinking that I will leave Leeds. My head is only for Leeds, concentrated. But what will happen will happen in the end.

“Of course I would love to stay here, but these are things for other people to manage. I want to enjoy only the moment I am here. I want to be focused on the football.

“Other things, of course, I see in the media, but nothing has happened still. I am here every day serious, enjoying every day in Leeds.”

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