Four takeaways from QPR’s 4-0 win against Leeds United – Field and Chair shine as fast start puts promotion hopefuls to the sword

QPR secured their place in the Championship for next season with an impressive 4-0 win against Leeds United on Friday night.

Here are Dan Evans’ takeaways from Loftus Road:

AGGRESSIVE START UNSETTLES PROMOTION-CHASERS

Picking up points against the best that the Championship has to offer has not yet proven much of a problem for Marti Cifuentes.

Since he took over as QPR head coach, he has only lost two of seven matches against the division’s current top six, with this eye-catching win their most impressive result yet.

Having already beaten Leicester City and secured a point against Ipswich Town earlier in the season, it was only fair that Rangers took something from the other automatic promotion contender in the penultimate game of the season.

However, whilst those positive results at Leicester and Ipswich were earned through the sort of disciplined and organised defending that has typified Cifuentes’ time in charge, the Spaniard let his side off the leash against Leeds.

From the first minute, QPR were willing to make direct forward passes if the opportunity presented itself, completely unsettling the Leeds backline, and would then swarm to win possession back when required.

This was displayed in the first two goals of the evening, as a perfectly-weighted forward pass from Jake Clarke-Salter sliced open the visiting midfield and created space for Ilias Chair to dribble towards goal before picking out the bottom corner of the net.

And for Lucas Andersen’s strike in the 22^nd minute, QPR won possession back in the Leeds penalty area on three separate occasions before space the Danish midfielder curled home his first Rangers goal.

Ever the perfectionist, Cifuentes felt his side could have kept the ball better in that period of the game, but he did admit that making such a fast start had been a key part of the game plan and was something that has been worked on in training in recent weeks.

CHAIR COMES TO THE TABLE 

Chair was undeniably QPR’s most important player in the early weeks of Cifuentes’ rein in W12.

The attacking midfielder registered two goals and two assists in his first five games under the Spaniard, contributing significantly to Rangers picking up a useful tally of ten points from those matches.

Chair’s form dipped along with the team’s performances during a difficult run over the festive period, but he responded in the new year with crucial goals in wins against Millwall, Bristol City and Leicester.

An ongoing court case in Belgium involving the 26-year-old has understandably overshadowed his contributions on the pitch over the past few months, and ahead of the game against Leeds he had gone nine games without providing a goal or an assist.

However, he was at his very best under the Loftus Road lights. He opened the scoring with a strike that was typical of Chair at his best even if it did take a slight deflection off Leeds defender Joe Rodon.

The Moroccan international continued to give visiting right-back Sam Byram a torrid time in what remained of the first half, and he combined effectively with Andersen and Chris Willock as Rangers stunned Daniel Farke’s side.

Chair capped his fine showing in the second half with the set-piece deliveries that produced goals for Lyndon Dykes and Sam Field.

He has only missed two of Cifuentes’ 31 league games in charge so far, and has only been dropped to the bench once under the former Hammarby boss. On Friday night Chair more than re-paid the faith shown in him by QPR’s head coach.

FIELD DOMINATES MIDFIELD WITH WELL-ROUNDED DISPLAY

Following the January arrival of Isaac Hayden on loan from Newcastle United, it has been hard to work out who should feature in QPR’s ideal midfield set-up.

Cifuentes has been willing to chop and change and rotate between Hayden, Field and Jack Colback, with all three showing their worth but also never quite convincing to the extent that a starting combination of two of them has been settled on.

Since Hayden signed, he has started 11 of 16 matches. In that same time, Field has also started 11 times, and Colback has started on nine occasions.

However, Field has been the constant presence of late. The former West Brom man has played the full 90 minutes in the last seven games, helping QPR to four crucial wins in that time.

His late header against Leeds means he has scored four goals in the closing weeks of the season, underlining his significant contribution to the team. But it was his all-round display against the promotion-chasers that caught the eye.

Field made three tackles, three clearances and two interceptions as QPR dominated the midfield battle, and he played a particularly significant role in limiting the influence of Crysencio Summerville as the Championship Player of the Year was kept quiet throughout.

Some big decisions are set to be made at Loftus Road in the coming weeks with nine players coming to the end of their current contract in the summer. Therefore, tying Field down to a new deal in March is starting to look like an increasingly smart move.

ADOMAH GETS LOFTUS ROAD SEND OFF

One of the players out of contract at the end of June is experienced winger Albert Adomah.

Adomah is a boyhood QPR fan and has produced some memorable moments since signing for the club in 2020.

His impact has been limited this season, with the 36-year-old making just 17 appearances across the season and just three of those have been starts.

Cifuentes has gone out of his way to praise the professionalism and influence of Adomah, even when he has not been included in matchday squads.

He has spent the majority of the second part of the current season featuring for the club’s Development Squad, passing on his experience to younger players.

But Adomah has been brought back into the fold in the past few weeks, and on Friday, with QPR four goals to the good and cruising towards Championship safety, he was given the chance to say farewell to the QPR faithful.

A rousing reception greeted his arrival as he replaced Willock, and every one of his five touches was cheered as Loftus Road was overcome by delirium on a night that will live long in the memory.

Adomah’s best moment was saved for the lap of honour though. Dancing along to Bob Marley’s ‘Three Little Birds’ as it played over the public address system, the supporters in the stands and supporters on the pitch came together to share a moment of celebration.

He was wearing an undershirt with the number 525 on it, a recognition of the number of Championship appearances he has now made. If it is to be his last it was quite the way to bow out.