Leeds (A) - verdict

[Jolemai]

DaveOCKOP (@DaveOCKOP) Tweeted: Carragher joking with Conor Coady saying that Klopp wants to sign him

Great response from Coady!
https://t.co/8mtjPzsvLS

https://twitter.com/x/status/1318300456268058624

 

[Lycan]

Brilliant second half performance.

Pedro Neto was absolutely superb tonight. Special player.

 

[Elephant Pyjamas]

Superb defensive display that. Max, Coady, Sais (other than first 10 mins!) And Boly exemplary.

After Semedo's foul throw he was shit (not for one moment saying that was the reason just that he went particularly crap after that) allowed cross after cross after cross.

In fairness to NS he's probably nowhere near full fitness and playing a very intensive team.

Mout loads better, Donk important doing the shit jobs again and Neto ran himself into the ground.

Oh and Rui did everything perfectly again.

Raul was very, very, very lucky not to get a red card and a 3 game ban for that kick out too, should have gone.

 

[Trips]

First half not really at the races, yet Leeds created not a lot. Much better second half, brilliant Saiss strike ruled out. Great work from Raul for the goal, and deserved the bit of luck.

Back 3 all superb this evening

 

[carl0s]

Lucky 3 points but a win is a win.

Delighted for Kilman. Looks to be his place to lose now.

Still unsure on our game plan.

We need to be better. Leeds are a newly promoted team. We can't afford to play this way against experienced teams.

Semedo looks like he needs a few weeks training to get an idea of the system too.

 

[Parkins left foot]

Kilman's MoTM was well deserved - calm, assured with no sense that he would do something impetuous. Happy to see him stay there for now.

Would have introduced Traore earlier - not that he did anything special, but the thought of him running at the back line did force them 10 yards back which was a benefit.

Lucky goal to an extent, but happy to take that. Turned Sky off now - they had no choice other than to praise Wolves after giving a Leeds love in before the game & at half time.

 

[Langers]

Do all the Leeds players have a triple espresso before kick off?! Ridiculous intensity. Frustrating to watch us combat it in a creative sense but they didn't give us an inch. Aside from allowing them too many crosses, we coped with their attacking threat very well throughout.

So not the greatest first half. Subduing them whilst offering very little at the other end is always going to frustrate but I was pleased with going in level at the break.

2nd half was a lot better - we seemed able to complete quick, incisive passes and it made a huge difference. I was pleased with Neto and Podence in the 2nd half, and some of Raul's play was excellent.

This is a really good win. I don't think it's any coincidence that we've been solid at the back after being so poor and open at West Ham - a colossal improvement in that regard. We really haven't looked particularly troubled in terms of big chances over the last 180 minutes.

Leeds will entertain people this season - they'll be absolutely fine - but it won't win them as many points as a side who are more pragmatic, such as us.

9 from 5 is a good return considering we've not had much time on the training ground with a full squad since the restart.

 

[Tony Towner]

Deserved the win, although I have to admit, I'm close to checking out . Nobody's fault, but football now is just a soulless experience. Mainly the lack of fans, but our 'offside' goal, just sucks the life out of the game.

Didn't see the Portugal game against France, but apparently Semedo had Mbappe in his pocket last week. Isn't the day dreaming, ball watching player we've had so far. Two poor games and one ok. Emperor's new clothes?

 

[Tom Hark]

It's potentially nerve-racking, playing a containing first half and an attacking second, but, tbf, we didn't look under pressure or panicked even though we were under sustained attack from a decent side. Good defensive display overall, and we clearly had enough up front to make the difference. Importantly, we managed to see the game out safely, which hasn't always been the case. I enjoyed the game and thought we played well, although we'll need to show more intent against our better rivals. Apparently, this is our best start to a PL season.

 

[Wolvensam]

Didn't see the Portugal game against France, but apparently Semedo had Mbappe in his pocket last week. Isn't the day dreaming, ball watching player we've had so far. Two poor games and one ok. Emperor's new clothes?

Must be the pace of the Premier League he is currently struggling with - Leeds did play at 1,000 miles per hour...

 

[Tony Towner]

Must be the pace of the Premier League he is currently struggling with - Leeds did play at 1,000 miles per hour...

Maybe and I'm certainly not writing him off after 3 games, but thus far he's certainly not as advertised

 

[Premier Quality]

So, whilst Leeds were very good, they didn’t really create any outstanding chances - two shots on goal, with the last one being on 40 minutes.

having said that - some of their one touch link up play was fantastic, really impressive.

it looks like they’ve found Costa some balls too, he was much better than the ghost we had for the last two years. Awful dive looking for a penalty though.

 

[Deutsch Wolf]

It wasn't pretty to watch in the first half (never is when we get into one of those modes where we can't keep the ball for any length of time - don't know why it happens, but sometimes it does) but they never particularly troubled us. This is wasn't like West Ham where Rui was stopping it being a complete massacre. He's hardly nothing to do bar the routine tonight, although he always does what he has to with the minimum of fuss.

Defending is as much a part of the game as attacking and we did it very well. Kilman deservedly MOTM but Coady not far behind.

Second half we played some good stuff, definitely the better team and worth the win for my money.

I do find it surprising how little joy people seem to derive from the best Wolves team a lot of us have ever seen, even those a little more senior have to go back 40+ years now. You know we rarely come flying out of the blocks. You know we build on clean sheets (our record through 2020 is pretty outstanding in that respect). You know we normally score in the second half. You know we rarely throw leads away.

Chill a bit. It's good for you.

 

[Jinky]

So Kilman could be the defender we all wanted to sign this summer...

Ait-Nouri or Marcal on the left, Kilman-Coady-Boly, with Semedo (who was poor tonight but needs time on the training field with Nuno) looks alright to me. Possibly a tad harsh on Saiss, but he’ll get plenty of game time too.

I’m pleased we came out the way we did in the second half - like night and day compared to the first half showing (I’ve said that a lot!).

6th place when we are some way below our usual standards is a good sign. Looking forward to seeing where we are once the new players have bedded in and, more importantly, Nuno has had some proper time on the training field with the full settled squad.

 

[The Bion]

Was pretty apprehensive when I saw the lineup but I'll take it. Not sure we 'deserved' it (which is an overrated concept anyway) but if I remember the stats correctly we restricted them to 2 shots on target - reminded me of the Man City away game last season in some ways, choke the middle, force them out wide and back the CBs to deal with the crosses. Could've done with less crosses coming in, of course, but you can't have everything.

There might be a bit of a hangover from West Ham in there but we did improve 2nd half. Still curious what exactly Nuno's trying to do - we were pressing super high and in numbers at points in the first half - if that's what we're moving to it could be a painful transition. We notably defended in more of a low block 2nd half, as we normally do. Chasing around after Leeds is practically suicide so I've no issue with it in that regard. There's definitely changes afoot though (Neves in the box alert!)

Agree that Semedo looked rickety, but he still has benefit of the doubt - he's only been here a few weeks and some of that he'll have been away on internationals. I'd expect some improvement reasonably quickly once the coaches can get to work with him for an extended period of time.

Kilman was great, and his calmness on the ball was very welcome. It was actually noticeable 2nd half how we weren't panicking our clearances and getting out constructively, it helped an enormous amount. Also agree that Neto did a lot of good 'dirty' work and hard yards, got us upfield a number of times.

As an aside, I think I'd hate Podence if he was playing against us.

 

[darlowolf64]

A bit on the back foot in the first half due to Leeds furious start but grew into the game. Much better second half and deserved the win.
Fantastic night for Kilman and fully deserved to be MotM
I got laughed out of town a month and a half ago for suggesting that Max Kilman should be considered a first team squad player who had never let us down when he's played... This bandwagon is getting a bit crowded now so I may have to find a new one!

 

[prawnking]

We look a work in progress, and the first half had me worried. Balance between defence and attack definitely off and playing as individuals apart from the backline.

Second half we deserved the win, Kilman excellent and a strong option, but need to see this form over time. Thought Moutinho was tenacious at breaking up Leeds play and threw himself about like a much younger man, but couldn't quite get the team going in a forward sense. Neto is so exciting, I think he isn't quite on everyone elses wavelength and can be a ballhog, but he'll get there. I like Saiss a lot, but LWB is not for him; he'll give his all but it just diminishes us as a side, especially as Nelson is still settling in. I think Marcal needs to start vs Newcastle and get a run of games, he seems steady.

Nuno will be looking for performance, and we're not there yet, but a decent points haul (albeit against two promoted sides and a poor Sheff Utd) will give the players confidence and the team breathing room.

Also, very pleased to burst Leed's hype bubble. They're a swashbuckling team but let's at least get to Xmas before deifying Bielsa, please

 

[sycophantia]

I tend to agree Semedo was off it a bit but thought he's been ok previously, we definately need some time on the training pitch.
Gunna make a statement, Leeds will fade during the latter part of the season, no way can they keep that level of intensity and pressing for a whole season in the Premier League

 

[Alan]

I tend to agree Semedo was off it a bit but thought he's been ok previously, we definately need some time on the training pitch.
Gunna make a statement, Leeds will fade during the latter part of the season, no way can they keep that level of intensity and pressing for a whole season in the Premier League

Semedo is still learning the position a bit. IIRC he's never legitimately played as a wingback for any stretch, so understandable that his positioning will get a tad wonky. He generally recovered well after making mistakes, IMO.

 

[BGreenWolf]

We need to be better. Leeds are a newly promoted team. We can't afford to play this way against experienced teams.

Nah, not having this. Experience be damned, Leeds were and are a bloody good team- play like they did in the first half, and they’ll give anyone a game (as Liverpool and City have both already seen).

All the pundits banging on about us being a newly-promoted team and underestimating us as a result two seasons ago was patronising enough- we shouldn’t turn that round on a high-quality team just because they were playing Championship football last season.