Patrick Bamford penalty secures victory as Leeds hold off late Burnley charge

The Clarets remain just two points above the drop zone, while Marcelo Bielsa’s side are nine points clear

Patrick Bamford's early penalty proved decisive as Leeds held on to beat Burnley 1-0 at Elland Road.

Bamford converted his 10th league goal of the season from the spot in the fifth minute and that was enough to secure his side their sixth Premier League win of the season.

Burnley, who began the day one place and four points behind Marcelo Bielsa's side, had a first-half effort from Ashley Barnes controversially ruled out and dominated the second period.

But Leeds, who spurned a host of first-half chances, refused to buckle under the onslaught and inflicted upon Burnley their first defeat in five matches.

READ MORE: Should Marcelo Bielsa and Leeds compromise on their style of play?

Bamford fired his penalty into the top corner to give Leeds an early lead after he had been brought down by Burnley goalkeeper Nick Pope.

The Leeds striker had raced into the box on to a long diagonal ball from Luke Ayling, who was skipper for the day in Liam Cooper's absence.

Bielsa's side, showing no ill-effects from last week's humbling defeat at Manchester United, threatened again through Rodrigo, but his shot was comfortably gathered by Pope.

Barnes thought he had equalised for Burnley in the 17th minute, but referee Robert Jones had already blown for a foul on Leeds goalkeeper Illan Meslier.

It appeared to be a harsh decision and left Dyche and his backroom staff furious.

Both sides were guilty of glaring misses within the space of a minute just after the half-hour mark.

Jack Harrison's goal-bound shot struck Bamford after Raphinha had capitalised on a defensive mistake and former Leeds striker Chris Wood headed over at the back post from Ashley Westwood's cross.

Raphinha wasted another opening, shooting too close to Pope when free in the area and Rodrigo headed off-target following from Ezgjan Alioski's superb cross.

Burnley took the game to Leeds after the restart. Matthew Lowton and Josh Brownhill forced Meslier into routine saves as Leeds were squeezed on to the edge of their area.

Bielsa sent on Pablo Hernandez for Rodrigo and Jamie Shackleton for Mateusz Klich in a bid to kickstart his side, but with 20 minutes to go the Clarets were still forcing the issue.

Only a brilliant save from Pope denied Hernandez after a lightning Leeds counter before Barnes fired straight at Meslier at the other end.

Dyche sent on Jay Rodriguez and Dale Stephens for Erik Pieters and Josh Benson and with Burnley chasing an equaliser, the action see-sawed in the closing stages.

Rodriguez fired over at the far post following Brownhill's assist and Meslier produced a fine save to keep out Barnes' stinging effort as Leeds stood firm amid a flurry of late set-pieces.

PA 

This weekend get a £10 free bet with Betfair, when you bet £10 on a Same Game Multi on the Premier League. Terms: Min £10 Same Game Multi bet on any EPL match this Fri - Sun. Free bet valid for 72 hours, awarded at bet settlement. Excludes cashed out bets. T&Cs apply.

Register for free to continue reading

Registration is a free and easy way to support our truly independent journalism

By registering, you will also enjoy limited access to Premium articles, exclusive newsletters, commenting, and virtual events with our leading journalists

Please enter a valid email
Please enter a valid email
Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number
Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number
Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number
Please enter your first name
Special characters aren’t allowed
Please enter a name between 1 and 40 characters
Please enter your last name
Special characters aren’t allowed
Please enter a name between 1 and 40 characters
You must be over 18 years old to register
You must be over 18 years old to register
Opt-out-policy
You can opt-out at any time by signing in to your account to manage your preferences. Each email has a link to unsubscribe.

By clicking ‘Create my account’ you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use, Cookie policy and Privacy notice.

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy policy and Terms of service apply.

Already have an account? sign in

By clicking ‘Register’ you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use, Cookie policy and Privacy notice.

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy policy and Terms of service apply.

Register for free to continue reading

Registration is a free and easy way to support our truly independent journalism

By registering, you will also enjoy limited access to Premium articles, exclusive newsletters, commenting, and virtual events with our leading journalists

Already have an account? sign in

By clicking ‘Register’ you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use, Cookie policy and Privacy notice.

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy policy and Terms of service apply.

Join our new commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in