Calvert-Lewin eases Leeds to verge of safety in dominant win over Burnley

It was the night all the nerves vanished into the ether, replaced by every track on the Leeds United soundtrack as Premier League survival was all but confirmed. It was all too easy to defeat rudderless and relegated Burnley, to put Leeds nine points clear of the relegation zone, with their rivals having four games remaining.

Anton Stach’s smart shot started the festivities before Noah Okafor and Dominic Calvert-Lewin provided the headline act to move Leeds above Newcastle into 14th and extend the gap to 18th-placed Tottenham. The final half an hour at Elland Road was boisterous as the supporters celebrated a crucial victory in what will be a hard-fought journey to safety.

Mike Jackson, a man who screams caretaker rather than interim, was back in temporary charge of Burnley for a second time after Scott Parker’s exit on Thursday. Where others would embrace the opportunity to shake things up, he was more conservative, sticking with five at the back in an attempt to keep things tight.

At least he could cling onto the fact that the already relegated Clarets secured one of their four victories thus far against Leeds back in October, but they have only won twice since.

The two clubs each reached 100 points last season, with Leeds pipping Burnley to the Championship title on goal difference. There has, however, been a vast gap between them this time round, with Burnley unable to compete at the highest level, sitting on half their opponents’ tally at kick-off. Leeds recruited smartly, while only Martin Dubravka of the summer arrivals can claim to have succeeded.

The goalkeeper, however, will be upset that he reacted slowly and went down like a sack of potatoes when Stach surprisingly decided to shoot from 25 yards.

It was a relatively clean strike but lacked ferocity, not that it mattered and the ball found the corner while Dubravka flailed. The goal brought the anticipated euphoria on a night that could reaffirm another year of grand occasions at Elland Road.

Burnley were their usual insipid self, unable to threaten the Leeds backline. There was a touch more effort and energy to the team but this was never likely to be enough for a side in a two-way shootout for the wooden spoon.

Leeds were in control of the vast majority of possession, as Burnley happily sat off. Okafor was the most dynamic outlet when Leeds wanted to speed things up, as the Swiss winger repeatedly tested out whether Kyle Walker’s pace was still sufficient to ward off danger, while Stach almost had a second but his jab at the end of some pinball in the area was blocked by Quilindschy Hartman, who was lying on the floor.