Leeds United vs West Ham Premier League survival verdict after moment 'punished' at Everton
Monday's 1-1 draw at Everton leaves Leeds United six points clear of West Ham with 15 games to go.
Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink believes Leeds United have enough to survive this season despite being ‘punished’ for one defensive lapse at Everton on Monday.
Leeds went from dominant to dominated in a game of two halves at the Hill Dickinson Stadium, with James Justin’s 28th-minute opener cancelled out by Thierno Barry in a 1-1 draw. Daniel Farke’s side could easily have been out of sight by half-time but a change of formation brought the Toffees back into it.
The Whites spent virtually all of the second-half defending and did so impressively for much of it, barring one brief moment which was punished. Substitute Ao Tanaka tracked Idrissa Gueye’s run but could not stop the cross and Sebastiaan Bornauw was beaten to the ball by goalscorer Barry.
“In the Premier League there is so much quality and when you’re on top but don’t score the second goal, you know the other team is going to get a spell in the game,” Hasselbaink told Sky Sports. ”You have to defend properly.
“They did defend properly for the majority of the game, but there was one moment they didn’t and they got punished. I would have liked to see them a little bit more of the ball in the second half and be a little bit calmer with the ball.
“They went too quick, too soon for the counter-attack instead of having five passes together and then going forward. But nevertheless, a point away at Everton, I think before the game Leeds would have taken that.”
Hasselbaink on Leeds United’s Premier League survival chances
That point kept Leeds’ good run of form going with one defeat in 10 Premier League games, but with West Ham and Nottingham Forest both winning over the weekend they gained ground on Farke’s side. An eight-point gap on the Hammers is now six while Forest are one point shy.
Leeds are still above the point-per-game average they targeted in the summer and know four more wins from their final 15 games would take them up to 38 for the season. And despite conceding a little ground over the past few days, Hasselbaink expects they will still have enough to survive.
“I think [they’ll stay up],” the former Leeds striker added. “It’s six points. There’s still 15 matches to go, but that’s a lot to catch up for West Ham. I have to stay confident, I think with how they’re playing, the energy and togetherness they’re showing, I think if they keep going like that they will pick up points.”
Leeds also earned praise from Jamie Carragher, who highlighted the quality of their first-half performance at Everton. He said: “I think they’ve been brilliant, I really do. You think of that first game at home to Everton, the atmosphere at Elland Road. Some of the football they played in that first-half [on Monday] was fantastic.”
The Whites will hope to continue their good run of form at home to title favourites Arsenal on Saturday. The Gunners have dropped points on consecutive Premier League games and have midweek Champions League commitments to manage.