Leeds score twice inside 15 minutes as Hammers' disaster season continues

0:06You're listening to the Sky Sports Premier League podcast. Welcome along. The Premier League weekend began on Friday night at Elland Road, where Leeds played West Ham. Here's how things sounded at full time.

0:26It's a huge lift for Leeds. they comfortably overcame West Ham in the ends despite their late rally Aronson with the early opener added to in the first 15 minutes by Joe Roden then after that Leeds United had opportunities to increase their advantage they were comfortable for much of the second half a late goal from Matthias Fernandes his first for West Ham threatened and picking a point but in the end Parker's side saw it through. A win at the Seeds, Leeds United move up the Premier League table and West Ham at the moment looking very much down. Still more work to do for Nuno, another defeat for West Ham United, their joint work start to at this stage of the season.

1:29Another match to forget for the Hammers. What a win for Leeds. Final score at Ellen Rhodes. Leeds United 2, West Ham 1. Stuart, let's start by talking about this from a Leeds perspective, because it was billed as a kind of must-win game for both sides to find themselves in and around the relegation places. But this is a big win for Leeds that really moves them up the table. It does. It feels huge. I think you can see by the reaction of the players and the staff on the sideline when the final whistle went. It's a big, big result for Leeds. They come into these two games last weekend, obviously Burnley.

2:08They didn't get anything from it, so it made tonight even bigger. They put on a fantastic performance. I know it got a little bit nervy towards the end, needlessly, I should have said, but pretty comfortable all night. Particularly that first-half performance where they could have had four goals. they could have really added to their tally but yeah as you say just that bit of tension at the end has added to the kind of relief from the players Yeah it is I think I mean West Ham were really poor weren't they they didn't deserve anything from the game but you know they got themselves back into it Leeds at the end a little bit nervous but first half certainly Leeds could have scored three or four goals they didn't and you know 2-0 is always a hard scoreline isn't it you're always one goal away from the game changing.

2:54But it's a big result, good performance. Daniel himself will be disappointed that they conceded because I know how much he prides himself in clean sheets. But yeah, a good response after last week. But I think, Rob, the story as well as Leeds have done in this game is all about West Ham, how poor they've been, that Nuno's been there for a few games now, still hasn't got his first win, known for his defensive coaching capabilities. they still look defensively frail and they find themselves in real trouble after nine games. Yeah, where do we start? I mean, it was just a repeat from Monday night from the start and you're looking at going out with a shape that we didn't really understand.

3:36Inverted fullbacks or fullbacks on the wrong side didn't work on Monday. So they went out and did it again. That cost them for the goals. Again, they could have been four down at halftime again and just didn't turn up. I don't understand how you can make five substitutions and be a better 11 with a better shape than what you started the game with. None of it's making any sense. There's no joined up thinking. They're not learning from the mistakes before. I mean, you can go on and on. There were a few chances for West Ham in this game. We talked about it being a slightly nervy ending. Leeds could have put the game to bed long before that.

4:11But West Ham had a goal disallowed. They had a couple of opportunities. as Jarrod Bowen had a spectacular almost overhead kick early on. And they didn't play well. And they had chances. This isn't a great Leeds team. This isn't a good Leeds team in terms of the Premier League. Leeds didn't have to work hard for their chances. West Ham didn't play well and got some chances. You're looking at it and saying, just turn up and perform the basics and get the fundamentals right and you'll give yourself a chance. They're not doing that, aren't they? It is West Ham's worst ever start to a Premier League season as the Leeds celebrations continue because they are moving up the Premier League table.

4:49They're now in 13th place and they're six points above the bottom three, having got their weekend off to the best possible start. But look at that from West Ham. After nine games, they only have four points. They're already three points from safety and Burnley have played a game fewer than the Hammers.

5:19The Sky Sports app is the place to get the biggest and latest sports news stories, live blogs, updates on goals as they go in, and all the video highlights of the Premier League, and much more. It's free to download from your app store, and you don't need to be a Sky customer to use it. Now let's get more reaction to today's game on the Sky Sports Premier League podcast.

6:08Road on. What a first start for Leeds United. And West Ham cannot defend corners. No, that's nine goals conceded from corners from West Ham. That's the highest ever in a Premier League season by three from the next highest behind them. It finished 2-1 in the end. Leeds had 13 shots, five of them on target compared to nine and three for West Ham. They had an XG of just over one and a half compared to just over a half for West Ham. Ten touches for West Ham in Leeds box, though. 148 passes in the final third and 59 % possession. In fact, that's the second highest that they've managed in the Premier League so far this season.

6:50The highest they managed was against Sunderland. So the two promoted sides are the teams they've had the best possession against. But they've come out on the wrong end of that 2-1 scoreline. And the goals for Leeds, both from corners, scored by Brendan Aronson and Joe Rodon. And they're talking to Johnny Phillips. Brendan, great scenes of celebration at the end there. How significant was that win? Yeah, it was huge for us. I mean, we've been a little unlucky, I think, for results. And to stick it out and get the 2-1 result was huge for us today in three points. And an early goal for you and a first goal for quite some time as well.

7:22That must be really pleasing. Yeah, I mean, I've been working really hard at it after trainings and stuff like that. and last week I got a little unlucky with one, but you know that's how football is and you just got to stick with it and I did that and I'm proud of myself. You almost had two with that run and shot there. Yeah, I mean it's of course a little unlucky, but I mean yeah one goal is happy and I'm happy with it. Geoff, we can bring the other goal scorer in. It looked like just the start you wanted and as if the game plan really worked from the off. Yeah, I thought it was important especially to be back on tonight's show reaction after last weekend.

7:49Of course, yeah, you know we weren't happy with last week, so it was important to come out of the traps early and I thought the boys showed great intensity and delighted for the three points. Given how susceptible West Ham are at balls into the box as well, is that something you particularly worked on? Yeah, I think everything's difficult in this league and we've learned that already, especially in the dying moments of the game. But yeah, a bit frustrated to concede at the end, but overall delighted with the three points. Yeah, does it really put that Burnley performance to the back of everyone's mind now?

8:16Yeah, I think it just shows how strong of a group we are. We know it was a difficult one last week. I think we played a really good game and was unlucky with the result and we had a good bounce back this day. So I'm really happy with the mentality of the team and we've just got to keep going from here. And important to get the crowd onside right away as well. Yeah, it's huge. Early goals here are what keep the atmosphere, keep it going. And the fans were fantastic today and they were behind us the whole game. So we're really proud and really happy. Joe, do you feel the home form will be key to having success this season?

8:42Yeah, I think everyone's seen it. The support is amazing. So it's important to keep that momentum and make it difficult for teams to come here. And again, I'm delighted to get back to winning ways. It looked like you had options as well. The team has changed around a bit from last week, but then the substitutes were able to make an impact too. Yeah, I think, you know, that's important this season. We're going to need everyone. And yeah, a long season and a lot of games. So yeah, when the boys come in, it's important that everyone sticks together. And I thought they were outstanding tonight. It was a great performance from you both, but Joe is the player of the match.

9:10Will you do the on the spread? Hey, no, he's a goal scorer now. We've been joking around a little bit, but now he comes to a Premier League goal scorer. Great work, Premier League goal scorer. Legend, thank you, appreciate it. Thank you. Well done. Thank you, guys. Well both of them on the score sheet today and it's been a long time for Brendan Aronson as well in terms of waiting since 2022 to get that second Premier League goal and it was a long time for a lot of the players who've been criticised maybe for not making the most of their chances Yeah I think with Brendan he's he does a lot of work off the ball I think at times he's underappreciated in this system that Daniel wants to play and his numbers haven't been good enough for an attacking player at Leeds, he needs to be producing better assists, more goals, more assists.

9:56He was unlucky last week, he probably should have scored, but tonight I thought he was excellent. He got his goal early on, which obviously gave him a bit of confidence. Hopefully he can start to grow now as the season goes on, but Leeds need him to be producing numbers. You see there, he's just in the box and he's sniffing around, waiting for a chance. and again, we talk about the defence as well, Juan Bissaka. I'm not going to take responsibility and clear it, but Brendan's on hand and I'm delighted for him because he has had it tough and he works really hard, but hopefully this is the start of a run for him.

10:29You've got to credit the manager as well, because he could have been one of the full guys from last week, missed the big chance to get back into the game. There was a lot of frustration from the Leeds fans regarding him and to stick with him, strength of your convictions as a manager, there was a straightforward swap he could have done with Dan James went no and he's been repaid within three minutes I'm not going to start on the West Ham defending again I think with Brendan and I've obviously played with him I think in tight spaces he's probably one of the best in the team at receiving the ball in the half turn in tight spaces it's just his end product that's what he's got to work on and you hear his interview there he says he's working on things after training so hopefully this gives him the confidence to go on now and start to produce the numbers that you know Leeds badly need You don't need to concentrate on the West Ham defending for that one.

11:16But we can take a look at it for the Joe Rodon goal that he scored from the corner as well. Because it's similar issues. Yeah, it's a gift. And you're saying put it in a dangerous area, attack the ball. West Ham have made sure they've got their two best headers of the ball. And I realise the irony in saying that. Free to go and just attack the ball. And they've both just clean misjudged it. got under it. I don't know why they're not really that occupied. Paqueta's having to pick up Rodon because to allow Tadiboh and Kilman to be free, I mean, it is. It's just woeful from everybody. There is nothing, you know, I criticise Nuno for the team selection.

12:01There's nothing you can do about that because you're sending the team out to do the job and you work on the team shape, you work on everything, you work on set pieces and you say, you stand there and head the ball, you stand there and head the ball. If they don't do that, he's got no chance. And it's a longer term problem than Justin Nuno's time in charge as well. That's nine corners. They've got nine goals from corners that they've conceded now. In Premier League history, the teams that have conceded that many after nine games, only six is next on the list. They're winning by a mile. They're winning this stat.

12:34But you've talked about the fact that there's not really very much that Nuno can do about this. He is a manager who prides himself on his team's organisation. The physicality probably will take a little bit longer to come into the game. But is this something that he can try and fix more quickly that we should be seeing faster results from? There's one thing they can go and do is go and stand on the training pitch and do it over and over again. And you do that every day until you're sick in the teeth of it. And you are so bored that you think when it comes to a game, the one thing we are not doing is conceding from a corner.

13:07because I don't want to go out next week and stand there day after day after day doing set pieces. That's the only thing they can do. We did it under Sam Allardyce. He said, you're not very good at this. We're repeating, repeating, repeating. That was at West Ham and it worked. You do it to repetition, to ad nauseum, and then you go out and you repeat on the pitch. Until they repeat it on the pitch, they're not giving themselves a chance. And as you said, the players have got to apply themselves to it in the situation as well. There was a chance for West Ham earlier in the game to get back into it when Paquitar had his goal disallowed.

13:42Now, this is a slightly trickier one in that we're not quite sure on first viewing whether the ball had come off Bogle of Leeds or whether it was played by a West Ham player and therefore offside. It was given as offside on the pitch. We look at replays and we're trying to work out, does it come off Bogle? Yeah, I think obviously initially we thought straight away we could see from this angle that he was offside. And then obviously the question is then, does it come off Bogle or Callum Wilson? And I think from that angle, you can't really see. But I think it's just this angle here where you can see it.

14:17It's pretty clear then that it does come off Callum Wilson and rightly ruled out for offside. But again, West Ham weren't really in the game at that point. Leeds were 2-0 up, they were comfortable, probably should have been 3-0 up. And all of a sudden, fine margins, that equally could have come off Bogle. and all of a sudden West Ham are back in the game out of absolutely nothing. So, yeah, right decision in the end. They did find themselves back in the game, right in the latter stages of it. But they'd had a couple of chances. The game went on. I mean, you said yourself, Rob, they look better having made the substitutions.

14:51And then they did get the goal from Fernandes, his first Premier League goal. Yeah, and it's a wonderful ball in. Who do you want on the ball? You want Gerard Bowen on the ball. Where do you want him? Out on the right-hand side with a bit of space. I'm not sure where the two centre-halves are. They're so split for Leeds. It gives that bit of space for Fernandes to get in there. It's a wonderfully deft header. I think in fairness, Rob, though he runs off the back of Ethan Alba through there. And I think, you know, you're going into the last minute of the game, just go with the runner. Yeah. No?

15:18Well, you protect the goal. Yeah. You've got two centre-halves who are 10 yards apart from each other, which screams out problems from the start. But you're looking at the goal there. You're looking at getting a bit of control. you're getting your better players on the ball. Then West Ham managed to do that when they went to a 4-3-3. They're pot-sitting. You have Paqueta and Fernandes in front of them and a bit of creativity and Jarrod Bowen with a bit of freedom. And who knew? You know, you're getting your better players on the ball in the right area would create your chances. But they lost the game by two goals to one.

15:48They're second from bottom in the Premier League table. And it's just four points from that opening nine games. Let's hear from Jarrod Bowen. Jarrod, I appreciate it's difficult coming out after another defeat, but how do you explain that opening 15 minutes in particular? Obviously not good enough. I think we started well against Brentford the other day and we wanted to do similar, but I think the way we defended the goal was really, really poor. Then we nearly get back into it. Keeper makes a save, obviously, from my attempt. And then, you know, from a corner again, it's just not brave enough, not, you know, doing the jobs, everyone, correctly right until the end and, you know, you're 2-0 down.

16:24And then we get a goal, it gets disallowed. Always felt like one goal, and then we could always get a bit of confidence when you score, we'd done that, but it was too late. So ultimately, again, not good enough. Can you give us an insight into what's going on in the dressing room in terms of what the players are making of this? You talked about the second goal in particular, why this is happening? No, listen, there could be a lot of reasons why. But obviously, a dressing room when you're second bottom in the league and won one game this season is low. But I've said for a few weeks now since coming out and doing interviews, The only way that this is going to change is if players step up and show some character, roll their sleeves up and get ready for the fight.

17:01I think we need more of that. I think we need more of that week in, week out. When things aren't going so well, it's easy to hide and be scared almost. But as easy as to say, it's hard to do sometimes, but we have to do that. That's the only way. That's my only mindset. That's what I've been telling the players. Roll your sleeves up, dig in, because no one's going to give this to us. This is a Premier League and we need to really put our finger out now because we're in a real situation and I think we have to face the reality of that. And the sooner that starts hitting home to everyone, it needs to change.

17:39I don't think you can come out here and say anything different. You can't try and talk about anything positive, anything kind of in that way. You have to face up to the reality of where we are, which is second bottom. And we're in trouble now. We have to accept that. Like I said before, that goes into everyone and realise the situation that we're in. We all have to dig in. We all have to roll our sleeves up. We all have to go out there and fight more than anything as a team. Not even talking about performances. In the Premier League, it's the hardest league. I've had many years, I've had many wins where we've won ugly.

18:17We haven't been great, but we've got results. We're not doing that. We're not playing well and we're not getting results. So we need to change it. I think that's obvious. We need to change it. We're the ones that can change it and everyone's looking at us and we have to stand up now. You clearly understand the severity of the situation from what you're saying there. Do you feel the message isn't perhaps around the whole squad yet? No, listen, we've spoke as a group, but ultimately it's down to a player as well. I think you can speak to each other and we do and have honest, open conversations. but there's only so much you can put.

18:53It's got to come from within. You've got to have that drive, that hunger inside, which I think the players do have, but I think we can show it a lot, lot more and I think the table shows that we can show it a lot, lot more because for nine games I think we've had, one win and we're second bottom in the league. So we need to look at the situation that we're in, understand it, accept it because it is what it is. That's where we are. We can't change it right now, but we have two games going forward. We haven't been great at home, but now's the time to stand up, roll your sleeves up and get the home fans behind us again.

19:23Really appreciate your time, Jarrod. Thanks. Talk to me. Rob, Jarrod Bowen said it a couple of times in the interview, the players need to accept where they are, that they're second from bottom in the table, that they have to roll their sleeves up and fight to get out of that situation. Do you think maybe there's an air of not quite complacency, but not accepting where they are, of thinking, do you know what, this will be fine, this will sort itself out? A grasp of the reality of the situation. They're in trouble. this is perilous this is a moment where you can really go sink without a trace and we've seen in recent years of teams that just go on these losing runs and disappear out of the Premier League and you're looking now that they're not coming up with any answers to the problems they've played two games this week it's a huge opportunity to get out of the bottom three to answer some critics to be positive about something and they've repeated the same performance the same problems over and over again and Jarrah Bowens out again you know someone who's responsible for missing headers for making mistakes for not taking responsibility other than Jarrod Bowen come out and say it's your fault there's a change in some sort of attitude there's a change in some sort of shift in responsibility because at the minute he's being wheeled out all the time to explain the answers I know he's the captain but he's having to explain all the answers for the team and he said then you you know he's looking out going he's another assist for him.

20:45He's the most likely to do anything, yet he's one of so many in there that need to stand up and realise this is a real, real problem. And we highlighted how poor that they are from corners, defending corners, West Ham, but also in terms of open play, Stuart. I mean, Leeds created chances and played well, but did West Ham make it easy for them to play through? Yeah, I think we talked on it before the game as well about the legs in midfield. And for me, they were just too open in midfield you see here that's Ethan Ampadu driving forward that's the Leeds number six Ethan's not known that's not his game to do that but there were so many times especially in the first half that he was able to do that this time you see Joe Roden stepping in and then Leeds are on their way again and it just time after time in the first half it just they were too easy to play through they lacked I think it was around the 60 minute mark when Nuno made a double change and he brought fresh legs on in the in the middle of pitch which obviously helped him out a little bit but yeah they were far too open um it looked like to us sitting here it almost looked like the players didn't know the roles or responsibilities they changed shape a few times in the first half um and it just it's it's just not good enough from a west hand point of view here again you see how easy it is for brendan i'm looking at paquette there and i'm thinking you know i know he was on a yellow card at that stage but at least make it hard for him and you know it's it's it's too it's too easy for them jared obviously touched on it there about players being braver.

22:08Nuno said before the game about winning more duels, they just were second best, especially in the first half. Second half was a little bit more even in terms of the game, but certainly too easy to play through. Out of all those clips, there's the maximum of two passes in any of them. It's not like they're playing West Ham off the park. They're just running, running with energy and purpose and West Ham couldn't match them. We will hear from both managers. 2-1 win for Leeds United. West Ham find themselves in trouble. Nino Espirito Santo will join us as will Daniel Farker after the break.

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23:51Welcome back to the Sky Sports Premier League podcast. Let's get back to the studio for more reaction to today's game. We've talked a lot about the problems at West Ham but it's a big win for Leeds United an important win for them at home to West Ham Here's Daniel Farker with Johnny Phillips Daniel, do you feel you executed your game plan fairly perfectly in the end? First of all, I'm delighted and happy with three points This is quite important It was difficult to explain how we were standing there after the last three games just with one point out of them in our hands and today we're able to bring it over the line.

24:29I think we had much more dominant and controlled performances during the season, but we had a really difficult week in terms of illnesses, injuries. Many players were struggling with a few things just back from long-term or short-term injuries. It was a difficult week for us and you could feel it. We showed passion and bravery in the beginning and played aggressive and wanted to win the momentum back. We scored two goals, but our structure against it whistle ball was a bit wild today and not perfect. We corrected it at halftime, way better beginning of the second half, but in the last 20 minutes you could feel that it was a difficult week and not many players were really there.

25:08It was a full training week and you could feel this. We were getting tired and tired and it was more like about the big fighting spirit and will and passion to bring it over the line. It was not great to concede in the the 91st minute because the nerves began again that we were struggling a little bit. But also good for the confidence of my players right now to bring it over the line. And yeah, priceless three points for us. It's your job to find weaknesses in the opposition and do you feel you did that particularly in that opening spell? Yes, of course. We spoke about set pieces and they have conceded a few and we spoke about a few things that we want to explore.