'It kills us' - Wolves star slams teammates for first-half collapse in Leeds United defeat
Leeds United's weekend hosts have now lost all of their opening five Premier League games.
Jorgen Strand Larsen insists Wolves have no one to blame but themselves after collapsing to lose 3-1 against Leeds United on Saturday.
Leeds bounced back from going a goal down early on to win comfortably at Molineux, scoring three times in 14 first-half minutes to render Ladislav Krejci’s opener meaningless. Dominic Calvert-Lewin, Anton Stach and Noah Okafor were all on target for the Whites who grew in confidence as their hosts regressed.
Okafor’s goal to make it 3-1 was of particular frustration to the home crowd, with Stach intercepting a wayward Emmanuel Agbadou pass before releasing his teammate to score. That effort and the half-time whistle that followed were met with loud boos inside Molineux.
Leeds were able to defend their two-goal cushion without too much difficulty, despite the 6ft 4ins Strand Larsen joining 6ft 6ins Tolu Arokodare upfront at the break. And the former was very critical of his side’s first-half collapse in the immediate aftermath of defeat.
“It’s bad. As simple as that,” Strand Larsen admitted. “I think we’re in a really, really tough spot right now and I’m really disappointed in all of us. No-one wants to be in this situation, but we have no one else to blame or nothing else to complain about – only ourselves.
“We were 1-0 up today and everything’s perfect, so we can’t give away those goals we gave away, especially not three in the first half. It kills us and it kills the people who want to come into the game too.
“It was obviously a good goal and it’s difficult for me to see it and it’s easier to see it when you’re on the pitch yourself. I’ve been out now for the last few games, but it does give a little bit of a vibe of the other goals we’ve conceded. It was two easy crosses that we’ve not stopped and given away passes.”
Wolves woes a boost to Leeds United’s Premier League survival chances
Defeat to Leeds leaves Wolves rock-bottom of the Premier League and without a single point, having lost all of their opening five league games for the first time ever. Farke's side, meanwhile, climbed into the top-half for a brief period before dropping slightly to 12th.
Leeds will be more than happy to keep Wolves in serious trouble, knowing they must finish above at least one established Premier League team if they are to survive. However it currently looks like they’ll need to end the season above two, given Sunderland’s encouraging start to the campaign.
Alongside Wolves, other early predicted strugglers such as Brentford and West Ham have also started poorly, with the latter second-bottom with four defeats in five games. Manager Graham Potter is already under huge pressure amid recent reports he could be sacked.
Brentford have just four points from their first five and are struggling to adapt to life without impressive manager Thomas Frank, while also losing key players Bryan Mbeumo, Yoane Wissa and Christian Norgaard. Fellow newly-promoted side Burnley also have just four points to their name at this early point.