Stoke City 0 Leeds United 3: Marcelo Bielsa calls for calm but salutes spontaneous Whites

MARCELO BIELSA hailed a more efficient and spontaneous Leeds United but called for calm over the future after the Whites stormed to a 3-0 victory at Stoke City to move two points clear in top spot.
Leeds United head coach Marcelo Bielsa.Leeds United head coach Marcelo Bielsa.
Leeds United head coach Marcelo Bielsa.

After a tough opening half hour, Leeds eventually tore the bottom-of-the-table Potters to shreds with Stuart Dallas, Gjanni Alioski and Patrick Bamford finishing impressive free-flowing moves.

The victory extended United's lead at the top of the Championship with Leeds left two points ahead of second-placed Charlton Athletic and three ahead of third-placed Swansea City who host Birmingham City on Sunday lunch-time.

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The Whites have matched last season's start by winning four of their first five games and drawing the other with Nottingham Forest the only side to take points off Leeds in a 1-1 draw in a game which United dominated at Elland Road.

Bielsa admitted he was reluctant to get carried away after only five games but the Whites head coach gave a glowing assessment asked where the football United are playing compares to what was seen last term.

United spent the majority of last season inside the Championship's automatic promotion places only to fall away in the final month and finish third before suffering a heart-breaking play-offs semi final defeat to Derby County.

"We are playing with the same ideas as last year, but losing the ball less," said Bielsa.

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"We are spending more time with the ball then without it and we are not losing the ball very easily. We are suffering less counter attacks.

"This is the same idea of the team, but maybe with more spontaneous behaviours in the team and more natural behaviours in the team."

Reflecting on United's start to the new season and position at the top of the table after five games, Bielsa said: "It is always positive to get points.

"But we have to have calm to analyse the future.

"It’s very difficult to predict what can happen.

"We have to show we are strong with the passage of games.

"One of the things that it is going to be very important and key is that we don’t have a lot of injuries and of course the positive results will have an influence on the team."