This was meant to be a tough ask for Leeds United.
A trip to the in-form side of the Championship in Coventry City and a ground that Frank Lampard was turning into something of a fortress, as he aimed to become the first Sky Blues boss to go unbeaten in his first seven home games since Jimmy Hill in 1961-62.
By the final whistle, the Leeds fans were chanting ‘Stop crying, Frank Lampard’ in reference to the 2019 spygate scandal. Lampard cupped his ears to the away end then held up his fingers to show the 4-2 scoreline that his Derby side beat Leeds with in the play-offs that season.
Such was the weakness of this Coventry display that Lampard resorted to bringing up a result from six years ago. ‘I don’t want to talk about it,’ he said after.
Here, his passive side were no match for the league leaders with Daniel Farke’s men putting the game to bed early on as they capitalised on two mistakes through goals from Joel Piroe and Jayden Bogle.
That it only finished two-nil was due to Leeds’s wastefulness after.
Leeds secured a 2-0 win over Coventry in their Championship clash on Wednesday evening
Frank Lampard suffered his first home defeat as Coventry boss as Leeds claimed victory
Like Saturday against Cardiff, Leeds could and should have hit seven.
Nevertheless, victory saw them go five points clear and they are starting to have breathing space at the summit.
It was here last April where their late season collapse which cost them automatic promotion, started.
This time around, Leeds, who are unbeaten since November, are looking formidable.
‘It was a great night and a pretty important win,’ said Farke. ‘To come here and show such a performance is quite impressive,’ the Leeds boss added.
Fresh off the back of their biggest league win in over half a century, they controlled the game from the outset and broke the deadlock in the 17th minute.
Ellis Simms carelessly gave the ball away and Manor Solomon teed up Piroe, who finished past Oliver Dovin for his 13th goal of the season.
Nine minutes later, another Coventry howler saw Leeds double their advantage.
Leeds’ stars wheeled away in celebration after doubling their tally in Coventry
Bogle, who played for Lampard at Derby, ran through the defence the Leeds full-back calmly slotted into an empty net after Dovin spilled the ball.
Bar a couple of good saves by Illan Meslier, Coventry rarely threatened as Leeds held on comfortably for a sixth consecutive clean sheet.
‘They’re top of the league for a reason. Sometimes you just have to accept it, said Lampard. ‘We shouldn’t be too negative but they showed a different level,’ he added.
In just over two months since replacing Mark Robins, Lampard has taken Coventry from relegation contenders to play-off hopefuls but this was a timely reminder of the difference in class.
