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Rio Ferdinand praises Jesse Marsch for what he did before Leeds United 3-0 win v Chelsea
Rio Ferdinand has praised Jesse Marsch for lighting the match before Leeds United’s 3-0 win over Chelsea in his pre-match press conference.
The Whites claimed a dominant win at Elland Road on Sunday thanks to goals from Brenden Aaronson, Rodrigo and Jack Harrison as the team maintained their unbeaten start to the season.
Speaking on his Vibe with Five podcast [August 22], Ferdinand praised the fans for the atmosphere they created on the day but pointed to Marsch’s comments before the game that he says “lit the match” in advance.
“This new manager at Leeds, the way he’s got them going..” he said.
“Did you see his press conference the day before by the way? Saying that he thinks Tuchel should be banned, it’s a red card so he shouldn’t be there etc. It lit the match before the game was even gone.
“But Leeds, that place when it’s bouncing it’s a hard place to play. I played there as a home player and an away player and it was always like ‘wow’, going in as an away player used to be like, if you ain’t on it and they get a goal up or something then it’s a hard place to turn things around.
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“Obviously the mistake by Mendy set them off on a bad footing. It was a crazy mistake, but Leeds man.
“I know a lot of people who were expecting Leeds to go down this season after last season, but they’ve done alright.”
Brilliant
Leeds were sensational on Sunday afternoon and there’s no doubting that Marsch has found a way to push the buttons of the players and the fans to get a reaction from them.
His claims about Tuchel being suspended from the touchline certainly had everyone asking questions and feeling a little bit hard done by, and they all reacted with venom to give the visitors a hostile welcome.
It led to an intense pressing performance and a brilliant atmosphere to drive everyone on, and the spirit the manager has managed to instil in the squad is essential to their good performances.
The mood at the club is great and the job he’s done since arriving so far has gone under the radar, especially when you factor in the fact that they have sold two of their best players and been able to bring in plenty of players from abroad.
But this is the best Leeds have looked since returning to the Premier League, and Marsch deserves all the credit. Hopefully the apologies are as loud as the disrespect was when he first joined and took over a horror show fighting relegation.
In other Leeds news, Richard Keys makes bizarre claim after win over Chelsea