Burnley 0-0 Leeds United: Both sides happy to take the point in lifeless top-of-the-table clash

In a game between the Championship’s meanest defence against the most potent attack, it was Burnley’s backline that came out on top.

The 90 minutes brought about virtually nothing in the way of goalmouth action, with the only shot on target coming from the away side in the 89th minute.

For the Clarets, they missed out on the opportunity to move into the top two, but they do cut the gap to second-placed Sheffield United to just a single point.

Defensively they were supreme yet again, keeping their 20th clean sheet of the season as they played out their ninth 0-0 draw of the season.

It was also their seventh straight shutout, meaning they haven’t conceded a goal in over 10 hours’ worth of football.

At the other end of the pitch they created very little, other than two early glancing headers for Zian Flemming that barely troubled the goalkeeper.

While Leeds looked the more dangerous, especially in the first-half, they were unable to cause James Trafford any problems whatsoever as both sides cancelled each other out.

As expected, Parker made just one change to his side from the midweek 5-0 rout of Plymouth as Bashir Humphreys came in for Lucas Pires at left-back.

The squad was also otherwise unchanged, with recent signing Jonjo Shelvey left out again alongside Mike Tresor.

Jordan Beyer, Aaron Ramsey, Enock Agyei, Manuel Benson and Nathan Redmond all remain sidelined.

As for Leeds, they also made one change from their midweek 2-0 win against Norwich City, as Ilia Gruev replaced Joe Rothwell at the base of their midfield.

After a surprisingly open start, it was Leeds who had the game’s first shot on goal after being awarded a free-kick just outside the box, but Brenden Aaronson was unable to beat the Burnley wall.

A few times early on Leeds had broken on the hosts, who looked a little lethargic and sluggish to get back in numbers - which is not like them at all.

After withstanding a spell of Leeds pressure, Burnley produced a more-than-presentable opening when Jaidon Anthony picked out Zian Flemming. But the forward could only glance a header wide, failing to make the required contact to trouble the goalkeeper.

While the game had died down a little after a fairly frantic start, Leeds retained an attacking threat - coming close through Dan James who mis-hit a shot across the face of the Burnley goal, but no-one was there to capitalise.

At the other end, Flemming flashed another header wide, this time from Bashir Humphreys’ centre, although Illan Meslier never looked troubled.

The half otherwise fizzled out, with neither side able to create anything of note. In fact, neither side managed to produce a single shot on target during the first 45 minutes.

The second-half, it has to be said, didn’t exactly kick-off with much excitement either, as both sides continued to poke and probe.

Burnley almost threatened midway through the second period when Flemming looked to pick out the run of Jaidon Anthony. But as the winger almost got in behind, he was penalised for a slight shove on the back of the Leeds defender, which looked a little soft.

The latter stages of the game continued in the same vein, with neither side willing to commit too many risks. But we did at least see a shot on target, in the 89th minute no less, as Trafford made an important save to tip over James’ fierce volley.

But that proved to be that as the two managers shook hands on a point they’ll both be satisfied with.

TEAMS

Burnley: Trafford, Roberts, Egan-Riley, Esteve, Humphreys, Cullen, Laurent, Brownhill (Hannibal), Anthony, Foster (Sarmiento), Flemming

Subs not used: Hladky, Egan, Worrall, Pires, Koleosho, Barnes, Rodriguez

Leeds: Meslier, Bogle, Byram, Rodon, Ampadu, Gruev (Guilavogui), Tanaka, James, Solomon (Ramazani), Aaronson, Piroe (Joseph)

Subs not used: Darlow, Schmidt, Firpo, Wober, Rothwell, Gnonto

Referee: Josh Smith

Attendance: 21,239 (2,283 Leeds)