Leeds United Season in Review: Disaster Averted Under Jesse Marsch

Leeds United had a magical return to the Premier League in 2020-21, finishing 9th in their return to the top flight of English football. However, their second go-around did not go as planned.

The Yorkshire club found themselves in a relegation scrap all season, resulting in their legendary manager Marcelo Bielsa getting the sack in February.

Under new boss, the American Jesse Marsch, they took the battle for survival to the final day, Raphinha and Jack Harrison becoming heroes in a 2-1 victory to ensure a third consecutive season in the Premier League.

Often appearing lost under Bielsa’s man-marking system, Leeds conceded the second-most goals in the league and also proved undisciplined at times, receiving 101 yellow cards in their campaign, the most ever for a club in the Premier League. These both contributed to a disappointing finish of 17th, only three points above relegation.

Humbling losses such as the 7-0 defeat to Manchester City and 6-0 to Liverpool highlighted how poor the Lilywhites performed against top opposition. In addition to this, they failed to pick up any points against the top six clubs, with their most notable win being a 3-2 victory over West Ham that saw Jack Harrison score a hat trick.