Losing no fewer than four players to injury and seeing Francisco Trincao and Jonny make the net ripple seemingly spelled a heavy defeat for Leeds at Molineux, but after Raul Jimenez was sent for an early bath, Jesse Marsch’s side pulled off what appeared to have been an impossible turnaround.
Jack Harrison, Rodrigo and Luke Ayling’s stoppage-time winner sent the travelling support into rapture as Leeds boosted their survival hopes at the expense of Wolves’ top-four prospects, but there is still work to do if the Whites are to secure a third successive season of top-flight football.
Back-to-back wins over Norwich City and Wolves has seen Leeds open up a seven-point gap to Watford in 18th, but the 16th-placed Whites have played three more games than Everton – sandwiched in between the two sides and four adrift of Marsch’s side.
Burnley’s games in hand also means that Leeds’ top-flight destiny is not all down to them at this point, but if the Whites can replicate the spirit and desire they showed against all the odds at Molineux, a 2022-23 campaign in the big time should be theirs.
A record of 67 goals conceded is still the worst in the division by far, though, and they have failed to keep a clean sheet at Elland Road in the league since November, so they could not have picked a better time to face a Southampton side whose fortunes have taken a turn for the worse.
An extremely positive start to the New Year has now been consigned to the history books for Southampton, who will end the month of March with no Premier League points to their name and a crushing FA Cup exit to boot.
After suffering three defeats from three against Aston Villa, Newcastle United and Watford in the top flight, Southampton were swept aside 4-1 by Manchester City in the quarter-finals of the FA Cup, despite being given a slight glimmer of hope following Aymeric Laporte’s own goal.
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Facing Chelsea and Arsenal later this month also does not bode well for Southampton’s hopes of a top-half finish, but Hasenhuttl’s 11th-placed side are only one point adrift of Aston Villa in ninth and are in dire need of a pick-me-up amid their downward spiral.
While the bulk of Southampton’s losses in the month of March came in front of their own fans, keeping the back door shut away from home has not been the Saints’ forte, with Hasenhuttl’s side conceding at a rate of higher than two per game on the road since November.
Leeds may have claimed back-to-back wins over Southampton last season by an aggregate scoreline of 5-0, but an Armando Broja winner saw the Saints win 1-0 at St Mary’s earlier this season as the South Coast side aim to make the 250-mile journey worthwhile
