Tag: Aston Villa

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Football

Marcelo Bielsa trying to pronounce Ipswich and giving up after saying “Is-pwish”

The penultimate weekend of the 2018-19 Championship season could not have been more dramatic. It was a weekend of football that had enthralled fans, leaving them with a multitude of emotions, ranging from euphoria to despair. There was more to this weekend than just the events that unfolded, with backstories and reactions making for some very entertaining viewing.

Let’s recap all the incidents, shall we? In the weeks leading up to round 45 of 46, Leeds and Sheffield United were contenders for second spot, with Norwich seemingly destined to finish on top.

Match 45 saw chaos unleashed at Elland Road, in a must-win tie for Leeds, against the in-form Aston Villa side.

Victory was crucial for Leeds if they were to make automatic promotion a lingering reality. Controversially, Leeds took the lead in the second half through Klich, who scored despite a Villa player going down injured.The goal sent fans crazy, but it drove the Villa players insane. Brawls started out with Klich at the epicenter. In the midst of this, Villa’s Anwar El Ghazi saw red in a sub-plot with Leeds’ Bamford.

The resulting kick-off saw Villa get a near-free run for Adomah to equalize, as Leeds manager Marcelo Bielsa instructed his players to allow the goal, much to the disagreement of defender Jansson. All of the aforementioned action in six minutes of absolute havoc. Talk about drama.

In much calmer times, Bielsa explained his decision to concede in an interview after the game, citing sportsmanship as the reason.

With Leeds capitalizing on an unfair advantage, the kick-off saw Bielsa scream, “Give the goal!” from the sidelines. Bielsa played the match in the true spirit of the game, and for that he has earned the plaudits.

He may have won the hearts of Leeds and Villa fans alike, despite losing out on automatic promotion, but he was defeated in the post match presser under hilarious circumstances.

The presser saw Bielsa struggle to pronounce final day opponents “Ipswich”. After fumbling multiple times, he said “I give up” in his native tongue, duly translated to those attending, who were left chuckling.

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Football

Leeds United v Aston Villa – The six minutes of complete and utter carnage at Elland Road

The EFL Championship saw intense drama on Sunday when Leeds United hosted Aston Villa in Matchday 45 of 46.

Dean Smith and his boys arrived at Elland Road vying for the fourth spot, and Marcelo Bielsa’s Leeds were hoping to secure their grip on third place. However, both clubs are firmly in the promotion playoffs.

Smith went for a more youthful lineup with three changes to the starting 11 including Andre Green, Axel Tuanzebe and Conor Hourihane coming in for Albert Adomah, Glenn Whelan and Mile Jedinak.

Bielsa made two changes to his squad, with Kalvin Phillips and Stuart Dallas coming in for Gjanni Alioski and Tyler Roberts.

The travellers looked fresh at the beginning, with Anwar El Ghazi creating a couple of great opportunities. It was fast paced with chances at both ends and tackles flying left and right. The first half ended with the result very much up in the air.

It took until the 72nd minute for the first goal to arrive, when a tackle left Jonathan Kodija on the floor, with Leeds continuing play and breaking the deadlock while Villa players were still trying to process what happened.

A scuffle broke out inside the Villa box as the away team argued that their player was still down and the whistle wasn’t blown the referee, El Ghazi getting sent off in the aftermath. This in turn led to a war of words between the two coaching staffs and the referees.

Shortly before play resumed, Bielsa instructed his players to stand still after kickoff to let the away side score, with Villa equalising through Adomah after he was let through on goal.

The game finished 1-1, with Villa’s chances of fourth place gone, and both teams looking for promotion through the playoffs.