Marcelo Bielsa bemoans missed chances after Wolves edge victory over Leeds

Posted Saturday, February 20, 2021 by PA

Boss Marcelo Bielsa refused to blame bad luck after Illan Meslier’s own goal condemned Leeds to a 1-0 defeat at Wolves.

The goalkeeper unwittingly turned in Adama Traore’s shot after it came back off the bar in the second half.

Wolves climbed above Leeds into 11th in the Premier League as the visitors suffered a third defeat in four games.

Bielsa said: “Luck is not a factor in the result. It’s clear the result was defined by their efficiency. Luck and what you deserve is not always the same.

“Look at the chances we had, we had double they did, and we defended well, we attacked well. There were only a few moments in the game where we didn’t dominate.

“We had 10 chances and we weren’t able to score a goal, they had five and scored one. That explains the game.

“I can’t be upset with the goal because it wasn’t Illan’s fault. The offensive game we had was sufficient to score at least one goal and in a game of small margins I had the feeling we were the superior side.”

Mateusz Klich hit the post while Meslier twice denied Nelson Semedo in the first half at Molineux on Friday.

Liam Cooper forced Rui Patricio into a smart save from Raphinha’s free-kick just before Wolves grabbed their fortunate winner after 64 minutes.

Traore shrugged off Luke Ayling on the left and burst towards goal with his rising 25-yard drive smacking the underside of the bar before hitting Meslier and rolling in.

Marcelo Bielsa bemoans missed chances after Wolves edge victory over Leeds — Wolves’ Pedro Neto and Adama Traore celebrate the winning goal (Nick Potts/PA)

Patricio saved Cooper’s far post effort and Patrick Bamford’s fine finish was ruled out for offside with 13 minutes left.

Wolves old boy Helder Costa wasted a fine chance in added time when he shot too close to Patricio as the hosts earned their first back-to-back wins since October.

Boss Nuno Espirito Santo said: “We are always trying to chase consistency. We have been consistent in the way we are approaching the games, it’s really important for a team to perform better.

“It’s something we’ve been chasing and we realise we are not at our best, we are trying to improve them day by day and today they gave a good answer.

“We are doing OK but the standards and expectations are high and that requires more responsibility from all of us.

“I’m very pleased, especially with the attitude we approached it with. It’s very difficult to play against Leeds, you can go the same way and chase duels and press, but the boys did very well.

“There’s luck with the goal but the strike of Adama is fantastic. It was almost unstoppable and I think we deserve that luck.

“Leeds created enormous problems. They challenged in every moment and our keeper did well but Meslier did well too.”