Kiko Casilla, Patrick Bamford's vital role and confidence in automatic promotion prospects - Leeds United Talking Points

A one-nil whitewash

History will always show Leeds United beating Bristol City by a single goal to nil on Saturday, February 15, 2020 but the performance was about as comprehensive as you can get.

Even by Leeds' dramatic standards, it really would have been something else had Lee Johnson's side left with even a point and the Robins might well have done so had Nahki Wells not blasted into the side netting when bearing down on Kiko Casilla in the closing stages.

Therein lies the concern, United's continued habit of squandering fine chances in front of goal and it is no exaggeration to suggest that Leeds could and should have scored six or seven.

Twenty one shots at goal with six on target compared to three and one respectively for the Robins and 69 per cent of possession for the Whites tells its own tale.

But one goal was ultimately enough and the performance was probably as significant as the result in showing that United are back in excellent fettle for the final 13 games.

Kiko Casilla and the obvious importance of clean sheets

Whites head coach Marcelo Bielsa opted to stick with triple-Champions League winning custodian Kiko Casilla in the Whites net despite three costly errors in United's three previous games, even with very promising French under-20s keeper Illan Meslier waiting in the wings.

That looked a big call but United's fans joined Bielsa in giving the Spaniard their backing by singing his name in the very first minute to the Casilla and Pablo Hernandez chant, to which Casilla appreciately applauded. A moment that was nice to see.

And in the end Casilla was left with a very quiet day at the office in light of United's dominance with the Spaniard left to make just one routine save though his positioning looked decent for Wells' chance and probably led to the striker blazing wide.

There were a couple of nervy moments as one or two clearances went wayward and a moment of panic when Casilla took his time to smother the ball in the area in the first half.

But otherwise it was relatively smooth sailing and just what the doctor ordered as Leeds finally kept a clean sheet for the first time in 12 games.

United's last clean sheet came in the 2-0 win at home to Hull City on December 10 - a fixture in which the Whites chalked up a seventh-straight win - and it's no coincidence that during that run Leeds kept five clean sheets.

Given their upcoming fixtures, there ought to be every chance of the Whites now reproducing a similar run if more clean sheets are forthcoming over the coming weeks.

United are creating so many chances that you would always fancy them to score at least one.

As far as Casilla is concerned, it remains to be seen what happens with regards to his FA hearing into alleged racism in the loss at Charlton but either way Casilla's confidence should now be restored and in any event Meslier is waiting in the wings.

The importance of Patrick Bamford

Whites no 9 Patrick Bamford has now scored in just one of his last ten games via a brace in the 3-2 win at home to Millwall and the striker again squandered one particularly golden opportunity against Bristol City.

But while there is a tendency for people to get fed up of listening to how hard the striker works and the importance of his hold-up play, it is a factor that is impossible to ignore.

Other than in failing to net, Bamford led the line to very good effect at the weekend, causing the Robins all sorts of bother by starting many a move and he was sorely missed when taken off for Jean-Kevin Augustin with 15 minutes left.

Augustin himself then should have scored when firing wide in the latter stages but the Frenchman failed to offer the same hold up play and especially with Augustin still in the 'adaptation' period there can be no doubting that Bamford is the right man to lead the line at present.

Nevertheless, the sooner the forward starts hitting the net again the better.

Luke Ayling steals the show but KP enhances England prospects

Every single one of United's players put in an excellent shift against the Robins with skipper Liam Cooper and the ice-cool Ben White proving rocks at centre back and wingers Helder Costa and Jack Harrison causing mayhem, albeit just lacking the end product.

Stuart Dallas had another fine game at left back and while Pablo Hernandez and Mateusz Klich were not quite at their best, their displays were still pivotal to the performance as a whole.

To Kalvin Phillips shortly but firstly there can be little doubt that on Saturday, Luke Ayling produced the outstanding performance of the day.

Despite playing at right back, no other player had more shots on goal with Ayling also having more touches than any other player and completely bossing the right flank, be it in defence or more often than not bombing forward in attack.

Ultimately, his 16th-minute strike after some penalty box pinball proved crucial and Ayling is fast becoming a leading contender to be United's player of the year though it has to be said that the last two games have again clearly illustrated the talents and importance of Kalvin Phillips in the holding midfield role.

The Yorkshire Pirlo is a class act who will still be improving at 24 years of age and it's pretty obvious he belongs not just in the Premier League but in the higher reaches of it and surely sooner or later he will get an England call.

Momentum, three points clear and a decent run-in

There will be absolutely no chance of any fan, player or anybody associated with the Whites getting in any way carried away or ahead themselves following Saturday's victory.

Last season's late collapse still remains fresh in the memory and United were 11-points clear in the automatic promotion spots only two months ago only to see that cushion reduced to mere goal difference.

But the Whites appeared to be very much back on track given the manner of their display in Tuesday's draw at Brentford - a game they would have won but for Casilla's blunder - and four points from their last two tricky games has given Leeds crucial momentum heading into the final 13 fixtures.

The unpredictable nature of the Championship again presented itself at Craven Cottage at the weekend as Fulham managed to lose 3-0 at home to Barnsley and with Brentford also drawing at Birmingham City and West Brom and Nottingham Forest sharing the spoils, for Leeds it was just about the perfect day all round.

The Whites are now three clear of Fulham and four clear of both Brentford and Nottingham Forest with a six-point gap back to Preston and Bristol City.

Also, there is no doubt that on paper Leeds appear to have the best run in with United's remaining 13 games presenting just one fixture against a side in the top seven in the shape of Fulham's visit to Elland Road on Wednesday, March 18.

Furthermore, seven of United's last 13 games are at home and there are no more dreaded trips to the capital where Leeds are without a win in 11 games.

Alarmingly, United were as short as 1-16 to finish in the top two after establishing an 11-point cushion yet a haul of just nine points from their next 11 games saw those odds slashed to just short of evens.

But everything suggests United are firmly back on track and the Whites are now no bigger than 3-10 to achieve automatic promotion and to be honest it's surprising those odds are not shorter.

The Championship is an unpredictable beast but if Leeds beat Reading at Elland Road next weekend - as they should do - those odds will shrink.

Encouragingly, the fine displays against Brentford and Bristol City this week were also achieved without the now back from injury Tyler Roberts or new recruit Ian Poveda even being used.

Leaders West Brom are now only four points clear of Leeds and 1-4 to finish in the top two but if Leeds continually reproduce their Brentford and Bristol City displays there would surely be every chance of the Whites overhauling the Baggies.

As ever, being more clinical in front of goal and finding more of an end product will be key to that happening and in any case all that really matters is finishing in the top two.