Marcelo Bielsa’s Leeds United were in FA Cup action last night – Elland Road cult hero Jermaine Beckford gave his thoughts after the match.
Leeds United cult hero and BBC Sport pundit Jermaine Beckford has given his verdict on the Whites’ FA Cup third-round exit at the hands of Arsenal on Monday night (BBC Sport).
The Elland Road side headed to the Emirates Stadium to lock horns with the Gunners and dominated proceedings in the first half, Patrick Bamford hitting the bar with one of the Whites’ 15 efforts before the break.
However, Arsenal rallied round after the interval and Leeds went on to concede the only goal of the game, Reiss Nelson scrambling home from close range in the 55th minute to knock Marcelo Bielsa’s high-flyers out of the competition.
Beckford, who netted the Leeds winner against Manchester United in January 2010 to condemn Alex Ferguson to his first FA Cup third-round defeat in the competition as Red Devils boss, said the Whites “didn’t quite seem to come out of the gates” after the interval, but nonetheless felt the overall performance bode very well for the future.
“Leeds just didn’t quite seem to come out of the gates in the second half but that was perhaps mainly down to the quality Arsenal have,” Beckford told BBC Sport after the game. “There were a lot of encouraging signs and this was a taste of what’s to come.”
While Arsenal will now face Bournemouth in round four, Leeds will return to Championship action on Saturday and hope to extend their lead at the top of the table – and distance between themselves and third place – when they host Sheffield Wednesday at Elland Road.
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