3 hours ago
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It was the night all the nerves vanished into the ether, replaced by every track on the Leeds United soundtrack as Premier League survival was all but confirmed. It was all too easy to defeat rudderless and relegated Burnley, to put Leeds nine points clear of the relegation zone, with their rivals having four games remaining.
Anton Stach’s smart shot started the festivities before Noah Okafor and Dominic Calvert-Lewin provided the headline act to move Leeds above Newcastle into 14th and extend the gap to 18th-placed Tottenham. The final half an hour at Elland Road was boisterous as the supporters celebrated a crucial victory in what will be a hard-fought journey to safety.
Mike Jackson, a man who screams caretaker rather than interim, was back in temporary charge of Burnley for a second time after Scott Parker’s exit on Thursday. Where others would embrace the opportunity to shake things up, he was more conservative, sticking with five at the back in an attempt to keep things tight.
At least he could cling onto the fact that the already relegated Clarets secured one of their four victories thus far against Leeds back in October, but they have only won twice since.
The two clubs each reached 100 points last season, with Leeds pipping Burnley to the Championship title on goal difference. There has, however, been a vast gap between them this time round, with Burnley unable to compete at the highest level, sitting on half their opponents’ tally at kick-off. Leeds recruited smartly, while only Martin Dubravka of the summer arrivals can claim to have succeeded.
The goalkeeper, however, will be upset that he reacted slowly and went down like a sack of potatoes when Stach surprisingly decided to shoot from 25 yards.
It was a relatively clean strike but lacked ferocity, not that it mattered and the ball found the corner while Dubravka flailed. The goal brought the anticipated euphoria on a night that could reaffirm another year of grand occasions at Elland Road.
Burnley were their usual insipid self, unable to threaten the Leeds backline. There was a touch more effort and energy to the team but this was never likely to be enough for a side in a two-way shootout for the wooden spoon.
Leeds were in control of the vast majority of possession, as Burnley happily sat off. Okafor was the most dynamic outlet when Leeds wanted to speed things up, as the Swiss winger repeatedly tested out whether Kyle Walker’s pace was still sufficient to ward off danger, while Stach almost had a second but his jab at the end of some pinball in the area was blocked by Quilindschy Hartman, who was lying on the floor.
For all their control of the ball, penetrating the Burnley backline was proving difficult for Leeds. A few crosses were scrambled away but Dubravka was only once more called into action before the break when a clearance rebounded towards him, not that Leeds had anything to worry about as Burnley failed to muster a single shot on target in the first half.
Leeds needed to sharpen up to find a second which would almost certainly end the contest. After a few false dawns at the start of the second half, Calvert-Lewin proved his worth as a provider, driving Leeds up the pitch before a sublime backheel opened up space for Jayden Bogle, who found Okafor at the back post, with Walker only able to watch his heels as he smashed home to provide the perfect end to a fine move.
In response, Jackson sent on Hannibal Mejbri, a move that enraged the Leeds supporters. The former Manchester United midfielder was banned for four matches after a spitting incident in the reverse fixture, making him a figure of hate in these parts.
“We are staying up” and a plethora of other chants were soon reverberating around the ground when Calvert-Lewin reacted quickest to jab home after Dubravka palmed out an Ao Tanaka shot straight to the striker. Even the pessimists lost their doubts at the third going in, turning the event into more of a party than a football match in the stands.
Burnley finally woke up, having a Lucas Pires goal ruled out for an excruciatingly tight offside. That was quickly forgotten when Loum Tchaouna smashed legally into the corner.
The comeback was improbable for a Burnley side that have now won once in their past 26 games. Their summer looks full of uncertainties as they seek a new manager and will likely lose key players before starting life back in the Championship.
Leeds, meanwhile, sit proudly on 43 points, more than the highest tally a team has ever been relegated from the Premier League with. No one will stop Leeds from marching on in the top flight for another season.
