Burnley rip up script to spoil Hollywood icon Will Ferrell’s first Elland Road trip as Leeds slump to frustrating loss
BURNLEY ripped up the script to spoil Will Ferrell’s first visit to Elland Road to watch Leeds.
It was anything but a Hollywood spectacular for the world famous silverscreen actor, who along with a raft of other celebrity and sporting stars, is a minority shareholder of the club as part of the 49ers Enterprises.
But it was Luca Koleosho that stole show as he kicked off his birthday weekend by securing the three points for the Clarets in a match ex-Manchester United man Hannibal revelled in his role as the villain.
It should have been a blockbuster start – only Mateo Joseph blew his lines.
The Spaniard, 20, suffered a huge case of stage fright inside the opening minute after dispossessing Maxime Esteve on the halfway line but he could only fire wide after racing clean through.
Ilia Gruev tried his luck from distance but Leeds did look suspect to the counter and Zian Flemming had already beaten the offside trap in a warning sign before the breakthrough.
Manor Solomon slipped on the ball, and that resulted in Italian U21 winger Koleosho racing forward 60 yards on a long-busting run.
He then kept his composure to round it off with a clinical finish 24 hours before he turned 20.
Leeds, who saw Wilfried Gnonto denied by James Trafford, were screaming for a penalty when Manor Solomon went down from Joe Worrall’s challenge, but the Burnley defender’s brave tackle from behind paid off.
Amid the appeals, the linesman spotted Hannibal going face-first into Leeds star Ethan Ampadu head, but the act was only deemed worthy of a yellow.
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That made him public enemy No.1 with the locals, especially when Ampadu then required treatment after winning a hefty challenge on his nemesis.
It was all going Downhill for Leeds as Scott Parker’s boys acted like the Wedding Crashers on Ferrell’s big day.
But if Daniel Farke’s men were going down, they were determined to do it in a Blades of Glory and they flew out of the traps at the restart.
Joseph tried again, this time forcing Trafford into a diving save to push out his 25-yard effort.
With an hour on the clock the hosts had enjoyed 75 per cent of possession but just could not turn that dominance into a goal.
It was going to take a moment of magic, and it was Ampadu who nearly produced it.
However, Trafford did brilliantly to tip over the captain’s 20-yard effort.
Hannibal was not quite ready to let his team-mate take the limelight, and he could not resist winding up the south stand as he exited the stage.
The 21-year-old Tunisian threw up his hand and a single finger to signal the scoreline in reaction to the chorus of jeers, and then he threw in a fist-pump to the away fans for good measure.
Speaking of fists, Leeds were struggling to lay one on their opponents as the clock ticked down, and any momentum they had was sucked away when both Joe Rodon and Clarets captain Josh Brownhill received lengthy treatment following a clash of heads.
That meant they had eight minutes added time to make a comeback – but there was to be no grand finale despite the Clarets having defender Bashir Humphreys sent off for a second caution at the death.