Tim Sherwood’s pre-match verdict on Leeds proven wrong in Newcastle win – TBR View

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Tim Sherwood told Amazon Prime Video Sport before Leeds United’s 5-2 win over Newcastle United that he felt Marcelo Bielsa’s side were showing signs of tiredness following defeats to West Ham United and Chelsea.

Leeds came into the match having been beaten 3-1 by Chelsea and then 2-1 by West Ham. Just four points have come their way in their last six games – as Marcelo Bielsa’s men struggle to deal with set-pieces and the counter attack.

However, they got back to winning ways with a five-star performance on Wednesday night. Patrick Bamford, Rodrigo, Stuart Dallas, Gjanni Alioski and Jack Harrison all scored – the latter being the pick of the goals.

Sherwood claimed before the match that tiredness had creeped in at Leeds, suggesting there were signs of it in the defeat to West Ham. The claim that Leeds could burnout continues to be applied to Bielsa’s side.

“Dare I say it, these look like they’ve blown a gasket already. They looked tired against West Ham. They’re supposed to be the fittest team in the League,” Sherwood said ahead of the 5-2 win.

But he could not be further from the truth. Leeds outran Newcastle all night, working harder than ever to get the three points. Just look at Alioski’s goal, when the Macedonian receives the ball, Leeds have five against two.

That is despite the stopwatch reading 85 minutes, Leeds already winning 3-2 and having broken after defending a corner. Harrison’s goal comes even later, after running the length of the pitch before lashing the ball into the net.

Against West Ham, Chelsea, Leicester and Palace, Leeds were undone by their struggles with set-pieces and the counter attack. Not, as Sherwood says, down to tiredness. His pre-match claim was instantly proved wrong.