Tag: Jesse Marsch

Leeds lets two-goal lead slip away in draw at Southampton

Marsch’s side weren’t able to close this one out

Leeds have mostly started the season well, with four points from two games a better pace than last season’s nervy last-gasp escape from the relegation zone.

On Saturday, they followed up a confident win in their opening game with a 2-2 draw at Southampton, ensuring that they’ll end the second round of Premier League fixtures in the top six. After losing Raphinha and Kalvin Phillips in the summer, it’s a very solid start.

It’s just the nature of how they got that 2-2 draw that might sting. Jesse Marsch’s side, with both U.S. men’s national team midfielders going the full 90 minutes, lead 2-0 thanks to a brace from Rodrigo, who scored both of his goals in the opening minutes of the second half.

For a few minutes, a Leeds team coached by an American, who replaced their biggest departures with Brenden Aaronson and Tyler Adams, were on course to be tied with Manchester City and Arsenal at the top of the table.

Only for a few minutes though. Southampton substitute Joe Aribo pulled one back in the 72nd minute, and Kyle Walker-Peters pulled the home team level nine minutes later.

Marsch, while frustrated, did find a silver lining in seeing a road draw as a disappointing result.

“It’s a terrible feeling to play well and walk away with what feels like less than one point,” Marsch told reporters following the match. “But that’s also progress for us, to be disappointed with a point.”

Marsch had to make an early substitution after striker Patrick Bamford had to come off with what was reportedly tightness in his adductor. According to the Yorkshire Evening Post, the move may have been simply precautionary, with Marsch saying they think he’ll be able to train this week.

Leeds will hope their performance during the first hour is what they can bring for a full match next weekend, as they host Chelsea at Elland Road on Sunday.

Check out the goals from Leeds vs. Southampton

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Brenden Aaronson doesn’t quite score Leeds winner in Premier League debut

PL Goal Accreditation Panel won’t let folks have some fun

Brenden Aaronson started his Premier League career with a bang, being heavily involved on both goals as Leeds came back to beat Wolves 2-1 at Elland Road on Saturday.

Jesse Marsch gave Aaronson and fellow U.S. men’s national team midfielder Tyler Adams starts as Leeds started the season off with a win. After last season’s final-day escape, it’s exactly the kind of result they need to make sure the threat of relegation is much lower this time around.

Aaronson was initially credited with Leeds’ 74th minute winner, a move that kicked into high gear when Adams turned upfield and split the defense, bypassing three Wolves midfielders.

Mateuz Klich tidily kept play moving upfield, slipping Patrick Bamford into space on the left, and from there the striker crossed low for the onrushing Aaronson to fire home what stood as the match-winning goal.

But wait! The Premier League decided Aaronson and USMNT fans couldn’t have a perfect opening day, as they eventually ruled that Wolves defender Rayan Ait-Nouri actually got the final touch. Just like that, Aaronson’s debut goal became an own goal.

Aaronson was also a major factor on Leeds’ first goal, though he won’t get credit for an assist. Leeds had an attack break down inside the Wolves box, only for Aaronson to show the tenacity Leeds was looking for when they brought him in, re-pressing to win the ball back immediately. That pressure saw the ball pop loose to Jack Harrison, who teed Rodrigo up for a 24th minute equalizer.

Aaronson went 84 minutes on the wing for Leeds, while Adams played the full 90 as a defensive midfielder in his Premier League debut.

Watch Aaronson not quite score

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Tyler Adams joins Leeds United in reunion with Jesse Marsch

Leeds United States!

Tyler Adams is heading to the Premier League, where he’ll reunite with Jesse Marsch after Leeds United completed a transfer widely reported to be worth £20 million ($24m) to bring him to England from RB Leipzig.

Adams, a U.S. men’s national team fixture, moves to Leeds just as their first-choice defensive midfielder over the past few seasons, Kalvin Phillips, moves to Manchester City. It is expected that Marsch, has worked with Adams at both the New York Red Bulls and at RB Leipzig, will install Adams at the base of his midfield in the coming Premier League season.

They’ll be joined by another familiar face from the MLS and Red Bull worlds, as Leeds acquired USMNT youngster Brenden Aaronson from Red Bull Salzburg just over a month ago.

While Adams made 37 appearances across all competitions in each of the last two Leipzig seasons, by the end of this past season it appeared that head coach Domenico Tedesco preferred players like Kevin Kampl and Konrad Laimer as his starters. In the club’s final 15 Bundesliga games this year, Adams made 10 appearances, and only three of those were starts.

However, a move to Leeds points at better days ahead. While Adams will be swapping a club with Champions League expectations for one that avoided relegation by an extremely slim margin, he has extensive experience playing for Marsch, and his experience in continental competition will be a big positive in the high-pressure environment that is playing for a club with the kind of fervent support that Leeds has.

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Jesse Marsch: ‘The media in England is so ridiculous!’

The American head coach has said that there has been prejudice against him due to his accent and background

Leeds head coach Jesse Marsch has charged that the media in England is “so ridiculous,” accusing some of harboring “prejudice” against him because he is American.

Marsch and Leeds managed to avoid relegation on the final day of the Premier League season, defeating Brentford 2-1 to secure their status in the top flight.

After taking over from Marcelo Bielsa in February, Marsch – who began the season as RB Leipzig head coach before he was sacked – led Leeds to 1.25 points per game, an improvement from 0.88 under Bielsa on the season.

But Marsch has said he’s had to battle prejudicial attitudes in England since his arrival as only the second American head coach in Premier League history.

“We can call it whatever you want, xenophobia or whatever, but it’s a form of prejudice,” Marsch said on “The Football Show” on SiriusXM FC.

“Some people don’t allow that kind of behavior to happen and will treat me based on what I am or what our team is, and that’s ultimately what it should be,” Marsch added.

“But it’s frankly ridiculous that they don’t like to hear an American accent in their sport in their country. It’s horrible, right? But I’m OK with it. I can handle it. And there’s nothing happening like that inside our team – actually the total opposite. We have total belief. We have commitment where the guys I think have responded really well to my leadership style. They like the type of football that we’re playing. I’m a big communicator, so I try to engage everybody to make everybody feel part of what we’re doing.”

‘The media in England is so ridiculous!’

Marsch recalled a press conference he gave after Leeds lost 4-0 to Manchester City in April, during which he attempted to put a positive spin on a heavy defeat.

“After the match I said in the press conference that in many ways it was a win, and people over here, they go crazy, right? The media in England is so ridiculous!” Marsch said.

“Any one thing that the American says, they want to just jump on and they want to then ridicule and find holes. Whatever, I don’t care, I’m not changing who I am. I’m going to be the leader that I want to be and I’m going to work hard with the group that I work with, and we’re going to find ways to grow and get better and succeed and that’s what we did.”

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Jesse Marsch, Leeds stay up amid Premier League final day drama

Leeds made it difficult, but they’re staying in the Premier League

Jesse Marsch and Leeds survived, staving off Premier League relegation by defeating Brentford 2-1 on the tension-filled final day of the Premier League season.

Leeds made it difficult, letting a lead dissolve while Burnley made a desperate push to get level against Newcastle, but ultimately a stoppage-time goal from Jack Harrison just seconds before full time between Burnley and Newcastle kept Leeds in the Premier League.

Both teams came into the final day of the season on 35 points, with Leeds carrying the distinct disadvantage of a goal difference that was 20 worse (-38 to Burnley’s -18). That left Burnley, who were hosting Newcastle, a simple task: match or better Leeds’ result at Brentford, avoid losing by 20 goals, and safety would be assured.

Callum Wilson’s 20th minute penalty put Newcastle ahead, and after halftime Marsch and Leeds added to the advantage, as a 56th minute penalty from Raphinha gave them the lead.

Wilson struck again for Newcastle on the hour mark, giving Leeds even more of a cushion, but Maxwel Cornet replied in the 69th minute to bring a nervous Burnley crowd back to life. Sergi Canos then struck an equalizer for Brentford that survived a VAR check, leaving Leeds just one goal (by Burnley or Brentford) from relegation.

Burnley went inches from an equalizer two separate occasions as they threw everything at Newcastle, but Harrison’s goal four minutes into stoppage time removed any doubt, with Leeds coming back for another season in the top flight.

Marsch, the second American to be named the manager of a Premier League club, took over at Leeds at the end of February. He took the job with Leeds two points clear of the relegation zone and 12 games left to play, but with both Burnley and Everton holding two games in hand. Leeds at one point climbed nine points clear, but then picked up just two points from five games heading into the last day.

However, Burnley won three straight in late April, and with Everton taking 10 points from five games—including Wednesday’s stunning comeback that guaranteed their safety—setting up the final day drama.

That said, the results did improve once Marsch took over for legendary coach Marcelo Bielsa. Leeds picked up 0.88 points-per-game under Bielsa, while they posted a 1.25 rate once Marsch took charge.

Watch Leeds celebrate their survival

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Christian Pulisic put Jesse Marsch and Leeds in even bigger relegation trouble

It was the first time an American player scored against an American coach in the Premier League

There was some American-on-American violence in the Premier League on Wednesday, with Christian Pulisic profiting at Jesse Marsch’s expense.

Marsch’s Leeds side is in serious danger of relegation, and they faced a difficult task when Chelsea came to Elland Road on Wednesday.

That task was made much more difficult within the game’s first 24 minutes. After Mason Mount gave Chelsea the lead in the fourth minute, Dan James was shown a straight red card for a horrendous challenge on Mateo Kovacic.

Ten minutes into the second half, Pulisic put the game all but out of 10-man Leeds’ reach. Mount found Pulisic with a lay-off at the top of the box, and the American calmly slotted home with his left foot to make it 2-0.

It was Pulisic’s sixth Premier League goal of the season and eighth in all competitions. The goal was also the first time an American player had scored against an American coach in the Premier League.

Chelsea would comfortably win the match 3-0, leaving Leeds in 18th place, the final relegation position. With two games to play, Leeds is even on points with 17th-place Burnley, but the Clarets have three games left to play and a far superior goal differential to Leeds.

Watch Pulisic’s goal for Chelsea

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