Fulham 1 - 2 Leeds United
Marcelo Bielsa finally beat his London curse with a steady, if somewhat calamitous performance against fellow Premiership newcomers, Fulham.
Leeds took the first half with ease and opened the scoring with a looping header from Luke Ayling that found the far corner of the net, only for VAR to rule out that Tyler Roberts had been leaning offside in the build up. It will have come as a huge disappointment to Ayling in the week he didn't get a call up to England that many are saying he should.
Not to be undone, Leeds continued to press and it was for another disappointed Englishman, Patrick Bamford to cut ahead of the defender and side foot in from six yards on 29 minutes.
Leeds looked in control but the usual gaffes in defence were adding undue pressure at the back, and on 38 minutes, Anderson found the ball at his feet from a corner, to slot home.
It was a poor goal to concede and will be disappointing to Meslier who was at no fault for the goal and produce a number of great saves, one of which may go down as the save of the season when he reacted to a shot from ten yards to palm the ball away.
The second half was more even, with Fulham aware of a nervous defensive line from Leeds, and they pilled on the pressure, but Leeds still looked strong on the break and enjoyed some good passages of possession.
Bamford was involved in the second, sending a clear message to Gareth Southgate. He controlled the ball well, found a yard of space and pushed the ball through to Raphinha who toe pocked it past the oncoming keeper despite pressure from two defenders. It wasn't the most spectacular goal he will score, but it was effective. (58 Minutes)
Leeds grew in confidence from that point, and whilst Fulham kept pressing, Leeds looked the more likely to score. it was a good performance and most importantly, it moved Leeds back to 11th in the table and one point away from the symbolic 40 points and Premier League survival.
Fulham 2 - 1 Leeds
Attendance: 0!
