Leeds United boss Jesse Marsch said he felt like someone “has ripped my heart out” after witnessing his side concede two goals in the final 10 minutes to fall to a 4-3 defeat at Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League on Saturday.
Leeds led on three occasions at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, through an opening goal from Crysencio Summerville and a double from Rodrigo.
But, after Harry Kane and Ben Davies had already twice pulled Spurs level, Rodrigo Bentancur then scored a quickfire double, in the 81st and 83rd minutes, to leave the visitors without anything to show for their efforts.
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Compounding the Yorkshire side’s misery, their United States international midfielder Tyler Adams was sent off for a second yellow card in the dying minutes.
“I’m gutted, I feel like someone has ripped my heart out,” Marsch told BBC Match of the Day. “I thought we had control of the match but then we let it slip.
“There’s obviously positives in there because in our good moments we look like we have quality, but in our bad we still look vulnerable and naive.”
The result ends a run of back-to-back league wins for Leeds, when they were the beneficiaries of late winners against Liverpool and Bournemouth. They have also conceded 13 goals in their last five Premier League matches as defensive issues continue to plague Marsch’s side.
“I’d say we’ve encapsulated our 16-game season in one match,” Marsch told media in his news conference.
“Moments that were really good and really on top of things and in control. And then moments where we’re vulnerable and make easy mistakes that at this level you can’t make because you get punished.
“I always try to look at the positives and and I really like a lot of the things that that we’re able to accomplish and certainly the men in the team. But it’s just a lot of moments when we’re in control of matches, we can’t seem to stay on top of the match.”
Not for the first time this season, Marsch also expressed frustration over the use of VAR, insisting that there had been a foul on Leeds goalkeeper Illan Meslier before Kane scored Spurs’ first goal. The American coach was given a one-match touchline ban and fined £10,000 ($11,500) for an altercation with officials during a defeat at Brentford in September.
“That’s a foul,” Marsch said. “The fourth official says to me ‘Yeah, I think it’s a foul’ and I go ‘OK, good. Then it’s gonna go to VAR.’ And then they don’t even look at it.
“But again, I mean, what am I going to do, freak out like I did at Brentford? Then they’re gonna throw me out and I’m gonna be the guy who’s in the wrong, which is incredible, right? What’s in the wrong is that it’s not [given as] a foul.
Leeds sit 14th in the Premier League, with 15 points from 14 games, heading into the World Cup break.