West Brom 4 Leeds United 1: Whites humbled by Baggies at The Hawthorns

Leeds United fell to a resounding 4-1 defeat to West Bromwich Albion in the Championship on Saturday evening.
West Brom 4-1 Leeds United.West Brom 4-1 Leeds United.
West Brom 4-1 Leeds United.

Marcelo Bielsa elected to make no changes for the trip to the West Midlands as he opted for the same starting line-up that came away victorious at the DW stadium last Sunday.

It was the hosts who started the better as Matt Phillips flashed a shot wide of the mark from distance before Hal Robson-Kanu cut in from the right and curled an effort narrowly over the bar inside the opening 10 minutes.

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Albion continued their impressive start as defender Tosin Adarabioyo saw a corner fall perfectly but could only volley wide with the goal gaping. Darren Moore's men continued to press as Bailey Peacock-Farrell met a Jay Rodriguez drilled shot with strong hands with the home crowd baying for blood.

A mistake from Kavlin Phillips then allowed the Baggies to break at pace as Harvey Barnes played a one-two with Robson-Kanu before firing into the side netting.

United then mounted a rare attack after some good play from Barry Douglas and Mateusz Klich resulted in Gjanni Alioski picking out Pablo Hernandez in the area with a low cross but the Spaniard failed to keep his shot down.

Albion responded to the scare by smashing the crossbar as Rodriguez curled a dipping effort on goal that had United stopper Peacock-Farrell beaten before Forshaw himself tried a shot from distance as the two sides exchanged blows.

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Klich tested the hands of Sam Johnstone in the hosts goal as the half came to a close but the scores remained level at the break after an end-to-end opening 45 minutes.

Five minutes into the second half though the hosts finally had the lead they'd been threatening as Albion broke following an appeal from Roofe for a penalty after a challenge from Ahmed Hegazi was waved away by referee Lee Mason.

Rodriguez broke across the halfway line at pace and found Robson-Kanu who rifled home into the bottom corner past the outstretched Peacock-Farrell in the United goal.

Leeds responded by changing former Albion academy products up front as Tyler Roberts replaced Roofe but it was Moore's men who doubled their advantage.

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Phillips timed a perfect slide tackle on Klich and collected the ball to shoot from 35-yards and saw his strike sneak under Peacock-Farrell who really should've saved the effort after a poor attempted at dealing with the bouncing ball.

As the game entered the final 10 minutes Albion hit United with a quickfire double as the ball fell to Barnes just outside the box with the goal at his mercy who slotted home with ease before a lovely backheel from substitute Dwight Gayle.

There was time for Bielsa's side to get themselves on the scoresheet as Samuel Saiz picked up the run of Hernandez who ghosted into the box and looped a header over Johnstone who was left rooted in the Baggies goal.

The damage though had been done as time expired with Bielsa falling to his heaviest defeat as Whites boss to date at the Hawthorns.

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West Bromwich Albion starting XI: Johnstone, Gibbs, Robson-Kanu, Morrison, Livermore, Phillips, Barnes, Rodriguez, Adarabioyo, Dawson, Hegazi. Subs: Myhill, Sako, Mears, Gayle, Barry, Hoolahan, Harper.

Leeds United starting XI: Peacock-Farrell, Douglas, Dallas, Cooper, Jansson, Phillips, Klich, Alioski, Hernandez, Forshaw, Roofe. Subs: Blackman, Davis, Shackleton, Harrison, Baker, Saiz, Roberts.

Attendance (away): 25,661 (2,737)