Leeds United fans hoping top at Christmas statistic proves true

Leeds United supporters are dreaming of more than a White Christmas after the team began the festive season with a brilliant come from behind victory at Aston Villa.
Jack Clarke gets in the shot that led to his first senior goal for Leeds United at Aston Villa. Picture: Tony Johnson.Jack Clarke gets in the shot that led to his first senior goal for Leeds United at Aston Villa. Picture: Tony Johnson.
Jack Clarke gets in the shot that led to his first senior goal for Leeds United at Aston Villa. Picture: Tony Johnson.

Sunday’s 3-2 success – courtesy of goals from Jack Clarke, Pontus Jansson and Kemar Roofe (above) – kept United top of the Sky Bet Championship and in the last 10 years every team who has led the way at Christmas has gone on to earn automatic promotion.

Head coach Marcelo Bielsa would not be drawn on whether the fans could afford to get excited by the position the team was in, saying there was a long way to go, but at the half-way stage of the season the Whites have amassed 48 points. Double that and they will be runaway champions.

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Bielsa was pleased, however, with the way United came from two down to beat a dangerous Villa team averaging three goals a game in their last six matches.

Leeds have won all of their last six games and although they left it late with Roofe’s winner coming in the fifth minute of injury-time they were good value according to the head coach.

Bielsa said: “It was a very beautiful game. We played against very important strikers. It was very difficult for us to neutralise them, but at the end of the day I think we deserved to win.

“Our players dared to play, they took many risks and they got the response they deserved.

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“In the first 15 minutes of both halves it was difficult for us to control the game, but then we gave good solutions to what happened inside both boxes and we went well from one box to the other, to attack and to defend.”

Leeds are hoping to keep their winning run going today against Blackburn before playing Hull City at home on Saturday and Nottingham Forest away on New Year’s Day.