It was defeat at Elland Road as Queens Park Rangers lost out against high-flying Leeds United yesterday (Saturday).
But what did we learn from the 2-1 defeat for the Rs?
Tom Victor takes a look at the talking points from the game, below.
No Cameron, no party
When Geoff Cameron went down and stayed down in the final minute of the first half, the Leeds United fans made their feelings known. However, while plenty of noise came from the home end, those who had made the trip up from London were sat in nervous silence.
Cameron has been crucial to the first team since arriving from Stoke City, and it has become clear they are weaker without him. An ankle knock ensured he wouldn’t return to the field for the second half, but Steve McClaren will be desperate for the midfielder to recover in time to face a strong Middlesbrough side at Loftus Road next time out.
Luke Freeman showing more fight
As Leeds dominated possession in the early part of the game, a lot of QPR’s most promising attacks came from the same source: Luke Freeman nipping at the heels of the home defenders and catching them out.
QPR’s top scorer can sometimes feel like a luxury player, but the performance at Elland Road demonstrated the bullishness he has brought to his game this season. It’s no longer a case of the former Arsenal man needing good service to thrive from wide – he’s got much better at forcing the situation and creating openings for himself.
Nahki Wells has his mojo back
After a long spell without finding the net, Nahki Wells has been able to ease his way back into a goalscoring groove, and the strike against Leeds showed the Bermuda striker at his line-leading best. You’d have barely said there was a chance when a hopeful ball was played over the top, but Wells sees opportunities where others do not and he proceeded to rob Pontus Jansson and find a route through before calmly slotting the ball into the one part of the net Bailey Peacock-Farrell couldn’t reach.
Wells spurned a presentable opportunity to make it 2-2 but he also created one or two more chances from nothing. This was the sort of game where there won’t be too many chances, so an ability to plough a lone furrow for much of the game and then keep his focus at key moments pointed to a striker playing with rhythm once more.
Can’t overstate the importance of the penalty shout
Goals change games, and goals from contentious penalties leave you feeling worse than others. Referee Peter Bankes was already in Steve McClaren’s bad books after awarding Blackburn a late, winning spot-kick at Ewood Park in November, and the decision to pull up Toni Leistner for an alleged handball won’t have changed things.
Leistner maintained the ball hit his chest, as did goalkeeper Joe Lumley – the man with perhaps the best view in the ground – but Mr Bankes pointed to the spot and that was that.
“The referee’s position - you want to see it on the replay – wow. He’s got fantastic eyes and can see through people, I think,” McClaren said after the game. For all Leeds’ possession they didn’t create too many clear-cut chances after the break, so the decision proved to be a huge one.
No shame in losing to a very good Leeds side
For the first 15 or 20 minutes of the game, it felt as though the home side were playing a different sport. The speed and accuracy with which they moved the ball around was unlike almost any other side QPR have faced this season, and it was clear the fluid team football which helped them score one of the goals of the season against Blackburn was no fluke.
And yet, after that difficult opening, QPR held their own and could easily have ended with a point if not all three. Leeds will almost certainly end the season in the mix for automatic promotion, and an ability to run them close on their own patch shows just how far the Rs have come as a unit.
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