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da spicy bet： This article is part of Football FanCast’s Pundit View series, which provides opinion and analysis on recent quotes from journalists, pundits, players and managers…
Leeds’ fell to a heartbreaking 1-1 draw with Derby at the weekend in a game where they should have easily been out of sight following Mateusz Klich’s penalty.
The Whites had an ideal opportunity to cement themselves at the top of the table but Chris Martin’s late equaliser ensured the points were shared.
It was a bizarre game given Leeds’ sheer dominance, but three specific pieces of commentary sum up how their day went from almost perfection to disbelief, as commentator Daniel Mann provided his thoughts throughout Sky Sports’ coverage (21/09).
What’s he said?
As the game was reaching the end of the first half, Mann took some time to wax lyrical over the performance from Leeds, essentially saying they were in a league of their own compared to the Rams.
He said: “There looks about five leagues between them. A lot of these Derby players were involved in that playoff semi-final which remember they won in the second leg 4-2. What a different occasion this is so far.”
A lot of the narrative heading into the match was surrounding spygate and the hammering Derby dished out to Leeds in the playoffs.
They were at their fluent best on that day but certainly for the first half of this clash, Leeds were showing signs of getting their own back.
Via WhoScored, they managed nine shots as opposed to Derby’s one in the opening 45, while also playing 132 passes in the opposition half. Phillip Cocu’s men registered as few as 33 in the final third before the break.
As the game was about to end, Mann was then quoted as saying:
“It will feel like ten points dropped for Leeds. They played like a team who should win the Championship title but they’ve not got the job done. They’ve paid the price.”
And how they did pay the price. Marcelo Bielsa’s side were all over Derby at Elland Road. Patrick Bamford hit the post and then Klich side-footed a penalty wide which surely would have seen them go onto win the game.
In total, Leeds had 63% of the possession while the visitors only had four shots in the entire match. That paints a sorry picture for the west Yorkshire side, but so did one of Mann’s final commentary lines:
“A day of Robbery for Phillip Cocu’s side. Leeds fans will go home in total disbelief.”