Phil Hay's Verdict: Leeds United coach Christiansen sees the best and worst his squad has to offer

WHERE TO START? Neil Harris wasn't sure so began by asking if anyone else needed a lie down after his side's 4-3 victory. He could not bring himself to talk about a maddening Millwall victory without first acknowledging the team his players had devastated with seconds to spare. Very rarely does the Championship rattle the nerves like this.
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Video: Christiansen working on solutions for Leeds United's shortfalls

Devastated was the word and Pontus Jansson, ever the evocative character, spent several minutes sitting disconsolately in the centre circle as the agony of Leeds United’s defeat sank in. The gracious tone of a Millwall manager was almost the last thing anyone needed but Harris felt compelled to admit how wild the whole afternoon had been. “Well done to Leeds,” he said. “Second half, fantastic. An emotional rollercoaster? Definitely.”

If one game encapsulated the rut Leeds are in, the extraordinary match which played out at Elland Road on Saturday was it: two goals and a man down at half-time, 3-2 in front with three minutes of normal time to play but beaten and bowed as the final whistle sounded. What set itself up as the most improbable fightback Elland Road could remember ended with Leeds taking nothing more than a consoling pat on the head from Harris. Thomas Christiansen, without a win in four games, gave less heed to the second half. “Very nice everything but zero points,” he said. “I prefer to play like s**t and take three points.”

Pierre- Michel Lasogga celebrates his second goal against Millwall. PIC: Tony JohnsonPierre- Michel Lasogga celebrates his second goal against Millwall. PIC: Tony Johnson
Pierre- Michel Lasogga celebrates his second goal against Millwall. PIC: Tony Johnson
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In the first half he got half of that bargain: an abysmal effort, culminating in United’s captain, Liam Cooper, fuelling the view that discipline at Elland Road is not what it should be. Cooper, like Eunan O’Kane seven days earlier, spoke critically of Leeds’ disciplinary record on Friday afternoon and then followed those comments up with a straight red card on Saturday. Deja vu was everywhere as he waited for referee David Coote to rule on a sliding foul on George Saville in the 37th minute.

Christiansen had tried to draw a line in the sand last week by addressing the issue of discipline directly with his players but three dismissals in as many games left nowhere to hide, much as Cooper’s punishment divided opinion. What could be said was that Cooper’s lunge beyond the halfway line was not a risk he needed to take.

“That must stop now,” Christiansen said, reflecting the problem on his hands by pointing out that Cooper, unlike O’Kane or Samuel Saiz, had at least been sent off for something less serious than spitting or a headbutt. “It was because one player went strong in a challenge,” he said. It caused a scuffle between both benches and Christiansen’s assistant, Julio Banuelos, and Millwall number two David Livermore were duly sent to the stands. Livermore is used to quick exits from Leeds.

Kemar Roofe scrambles in the equalise. PIC: Tony JohnsonKemar Roofe scrambles in the equalise. PIC: Tony Johnson
Kemar Roofe scrambles in the equalise. PIC: Tony Johnson

Millwall had scored before Cooper exited the field, a back-post header from Aiden O’Brien after Steve Morison floated a cross over Gaetano Berardi in the 18th minute, and scored again when Lee Gregory arrived to bundle in another Morison delivery three minutes before half-time. Time has failed to heal Elland Road’s enmity towards Morison and he took those goals as his chance to goad the Kop. The joke had briefly been on him at 0-0 when Jed Wallace rammed a shot past Felix Wiedwald, only to see an offside flag rise. O’Brien picked Leeds off with Millwall’s next attack.

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Throughout the first half, Christiansen’s defence looked like they had met that morning. Laurens De Bock, on his debut at left-back, almost had but Millwall picked the entire back-four apart, dominating in the air. Shaun Hutchinson hit the crossbar and Felix Wiedwald pulled off two full-stretch saves as Leeds toyed with the idea of throwing the towel in last exchanges before the break.

Lions' Jed Wallace scores a late, late winner at Elland Road. PIC: Tony JohnsonLions' Jed Wallace scores a late, late winner at Elland Road. PIC: Tony Johnson
Lions' Jed Wallace scores a late, late winner at Elland Road. PIC: Tony Johnson

Christiansen felt even then that it should have been different. Pierre-Michel Lasogga, who was last seen starting a Championship game during an aimless outing at Brentford in November, was reintroduced and should have scored twice in his first 13 minutes, dollying a free header straight at Millwall goalkeeper Jordan Archer before driving a shot against Archer’s legs.

The German is struggling for popularity and what came from him in the second half was as unforeseen as the football which came from Christiansen’s 10-man team. The United head coach said he was angry at the interval.

Pierre- Michel Lasogga celebrates his second goal against Millwall. PIC: Tony JohnsonPierre- Michel Lasogga celebrates his second goal against Millwall. PIC: Tony Johnson
Pierre- Michel Lasogga celebrates his second goal against Millwall. PIC: Tony Johnson

“It was probably one of the speeches where I said my opinion straight,” he said. “But when you say something negative to make the team react, you then need to say something positive, to make them believe it is possible.

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“So went my speech and finally I said ‘does the team believe in this?’ Everyone said yes.”

The Dane sacrificed Vieira and sent on Matthew Pennington. His usual 4-2-3-1 system was blown and a three-man defence backed up two lines of three in front of it.

Thirty seconds into the second half, Shaun Williams missed an easy clearance, Kemar Roofe crossed low from the right and Lasogga hit the net with a shuddering shot. In the 55th minute, and with Millwall starting to panic, Archer spilled a gentle cross from De Bock and Roofe stuck around in a mass scramble for long enough to stab the ball over the line.

Harris told it as it was. “In front of 35,000 at Elland Road, you give them a sniff and they’re going to take it,” he said. “It’s not just about making mistakes. It’s about how you deal with those mistakes and bounce back. We completely lost our composure for 15 minutes. No-one managed the game. There are certainly learning curves for us.” Lasogga caused pandemonium in the 62nd minute by controlling a pass from Hernandez and finding the bottom corner from 20 yards with the sort of sharp, deadly strike which once persuaded Hamburg that he was worth £50,000 a week. Millwall looked exhausted and riddled with mistakes, struggling to see a way back.

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“I compliment the team,” Christiansen said. “We changed the system, played with three behind and managed to change the [scoreline]. It was amazing. There was nothing where you could say the team didn’t try. It was about believing and having the pride we didn’t have in the first half.”

Kemar Roofe scrambles in the equalise. PIC: Tony JohnsonKemar Roofe scrambles in the equalise. PIC: Tony Johnson
Kemar Roofe scrambles in the equalise. PIC: Tony Johnson

Harris claimed that he had told his bench that a comeback might still be on the cards. “With five minutes to go, I said to Adam Barrett, my coach, ‘we’ll still win this’,” he said. His side were nonetheless pursuing dead ends and blind alleys until Tom Elliott, the one-time Leeds academy striker who debuted for United as a schoolboy in 2007, turned on the spot and drove a shot past Felix Wiedwald with 87 minutes gone, knocking the wind out of Leeds.

Christiansen had already replaced Roofe and Lasogga, admitting that Lasogga after so few recent appearances was “finished” and out on his feet. Minus a focal point up front, a seventh goal looked like Millwall’s for the taking and Wallace snatched it in the second minute of injury-time with a deflected shot, driven in after Stuart Dallas allowed the ball to run away from him on the halfway line. Even then there was time left for Archer to deny Conor Shaughnessy with a point-blank parry.

Christiansen had the right to be philosophical but Leeds are down in 10th in the Championship, without a win since Boxing Day and are losing players at quicker rate than they are signing them. Kalvin Phillips’ booking in the closing minutes earned him a two-match ban and all the while the fact remained that Millwall, before Saturday, had failed to win a game away from home all season or score more than six goals.

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“Unfortunately we need to shoot ourselves in the feet to react and to be one player less,” Christiansen said. “Perhaps the tactic for the next game is to start with one less. This is when we play best.”