Leeds United returned to winning form with a 1-0 triumph over Fulham at Elland Road on Saturday, a result that kept their eight-point gap clear of the relegation places intact.
The hosts controlled much of the contest, but the match appeared to be drifting towards a scoreless draw. That was until Lukas Nmecha produced a decisive moment in the dying stages, netting a last-gasp winner to clinch all three points.
Daniel Farke and his players were clearly buoyed by the hard-earned victory at full-time, once again demonstrating they have the quality and resilience required to stay in the Premier League.
West Ham’s win over Tottenham made the win for Leeds even more important. However, Jamie O’Hara has now made a huge relegation claim after Saturday’s results.
Jamie O’Hara has admitted Tottenham are now with Leeds United in the relegation fight
Leeds’ win kept them in 16th and eight points clear of the relegation zone. The three points became even more important as West Ham won for the first time in months, beating Spurs away from home.
Tottenham’s form has been on a downward curve for weeks, and the defeat against West Ham was the nadir of Thomas Frank’s reign at the club.
Former Spurs star Jamie O’Hara does not believe the north London club will go down, as they may have too much quality to do so.
However, he insisted that as long as Spurs do not start winning games again, they are in the fight to survive in the Premier League this season.
O’Hara said on talkSPORT: “I am going to put it out right now.
“We are ten points from West Ham; we are not going down, but we have to be honest with ourselves and say, we might.
“There has to be the mentality that we are in a relegation fight, and until we pick up wins, we are in it.”
Leeds can afford to look up
While Tottenham’s form is forcing them to look over their shoulders after 22 Premier League games, Leeds can now look forward and try to push up the table.
They continue to maintain a healthy eight-point lead over West Ham, despite their shock win on Saturday. However, they are now two points behind Tottenham in the league.
| Pos | Club | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 14 | Tottenham | 22 | 7 | 6 | 9 | 31 | 29 | +2 | 27 |
| 15 | Bournemouth | 21 | 6 | 8 | 7 | 34 | 40 | -6 | 26 |
| 16 | Leeds United | 22 | 6 | 7 | 9 | 30 | 37 | -7 | 25 |
| 17 | Nottingham Forest | 22 | 6 | 4 | 12 | 21 | 34 | -13 | 22 |
| 18 | West Ham | 22 | 4 | 5 | 13 | 24 | 44 | -20 | 17 |
| 19 | Burnley | 22 | 3 | 5 | 14 | 23 | 42 | -19 | 14 |
| 20 | Wolves | 21 | 1 | 4 | 16 | 15 | 41 | -26 | 7 |
Leeds have lost just once in nine games, and even that defeat needed two late goals and a goalkeeping error for them to leave Newcastle empty-handed.
The Whites can now seriously consider finishing in midtable rather than worrying about scrapping for survival towards the end of the season.
Leeds will still have to guard against complacency. However, Farke now has reasons to be more ambitious about his team’s position in the league table.
