Valerien Ismael admits Leeds United ‘deserved’ win v Watford amid ‘lucky’ verdict
Valerien Ismael has admitted that Leeds United deserved their 3-0 victory at Elland Road, confessing his side were “lucky” not to concede in the first half.
As quoted by Phil Hay (23 September), the Watford boss shared his attempts to rectify the poor start with three halftime substitutions but pointed to his side’s struggle to come back after Joel Piroe’s opener.
Goals from the Dutchman, Sam Byram and Jaidon Anthony put the Hornets to bed in Yorkshire with a performance Ismael claimed was significantly better than his sides’.
Ismael said: “Leeds deserved to win.
“Nil-nil at halftime, we were lucky. In the second half, we changed things and were more stable but we concede the goal and afterwards it was difficult. For 90 minutes, the opponent was much better.”
Refreshing
Watford were a well-beaten team in the end. Ismael would have been counting his lucky stars when he entered the away dressing room at halftime on level pegging.
In the end, the stats showed that Daniel Farke’s side were well-deserving of the victory. Per SofaScore, Leeds earned 2.34 expected goals to Watford’s 0.18 – a night and day difference. The Whites peppered Daniel Bachmann’s goal with 17 shots, while the Hornets had little sting with just four.
While teams around them still have a game in hand, Farke fired his side into a playoff spot, while Watford slumped further down the table to 16th – something Ismael will be eager to rectify quickly.
However, it is refreshing to see an opposition boss accept his mistakes and take the defeat on the chin. He was let down by poor defending and a lack of anything up top, but Leeds were worth their weight in gold at Elland Road.
It felt borderline miraculous that Watford kept a first-half clean sheet, but inevitably something had to break.
Both sides have a lot to take from the goal-heavy encounter in Yorkshire, but the French boss will have far more to do at the training ground.
In other Leeds United news, an injury expert has shed some light on Djed Spence’s setback.