Leeds United picked up a crucial win on Wednesday night, as they beat Chelsea 3-1 to go outside of the relegation zone. With 14 points to their name in as many games, it has certainly been a struggle for Daniel Farke’s side this season.
However, they are in good form. Of course, they beat the Blues this week at Elland Road, and last Saturday were unlucky to drop points away to Manchester City.
Only a goal in the 92nd minute from Phil Foden could sink Farke’s team, who were close to the ideal week in their relegation fight.
Indeed, there have been some standout players over the past few days for the West Yorkshire side.
Leeds’ best players in their last two games
It is hard to pinpoint just a couple of players who have excelled for Farke’s side against two of the Premier League’s title challengers, with the whole squad impressing. However, one player who shone was defender Jayden Bogle.
Against City, he played as a right-back, and won 100% of his tackles and three ground duels coming up against Jeremy Doku. On Wednesday, he had more of an advanced role and made great use of it.
Operating as a wing-back on the right flank, Bogle assisted Ao Tanaka, who made it 2-0 to Leeds on the stroke of half-time.
Another standout from the impressive performances this week was summer signing Lukas Nmecha. The German striker has been in good form this term and added to his goal tally at the Etihad Stadium last weekend. He’s now bagged four times in the top flight this season.
Whilst he didn’t find the back of the net against the Blues, Nmecha still made a real nuisance of himself for the Chelsea backline.
The German was not the only Leeds attacker who stood out in the last week.
From “Bang average” to undroppable
The Whites are not short of attacking options after a busy summer. They already had the likes of Brenden Aaronson, Joel Piroe and Wilfried Gnoto, three of the players at Farke’s disposal, who all played a big role in their promotion.
Nmecha was brought in to add to that depth, as was Dominic Calvert-Lewin.
The former Everton star made the move to West Yorkshire upon the expiry of his contract on Merseyside. It was a tough start to life at Leeds, though.
The 28-year-old did not exactly set the world alight with his start in a Leeds shirt. He’d only managed one goal in his first ten Premier League games, and that was away to bottom-of-the-table Wolverhampton Wanderers.
It meant the England international had to face some criticism for the lack of form in front of goal.
Earlier in the campaign, defender-turned-pundit Michael Dawson said on Sky Sports’ Soccer Saturday he was looking “bang average”, following the defeat to Fulham.
However, that form has recently taken a huge upturn. In what have arguably been his side’s two toughest games so far this season, Calvert-Lewin got himself on the scoresheet against both City and Chelsea.
It wasn’t just his goals that made these performances impressive, but the manner in which he played. He was a handful off the ball, winning 15 duels on Wednesday night, and six at the weekend.
He won three fouls in each game, too, making an impact despite having minimal touches.
|
Calvert-Lewin – last two games |
||
|---|---|---|
|
Stat |
vs. Man City |
vs. Chelsea |
|
Touches |
15 |
35 |
|
Shots |
1 |
3 |
|
Duels won |
6 |
15 |
|
Fouls won |
3 (1 penalty) |
3 |
|
Goals |
1 |
1 |
|
Stats from Sofascore |
||
His performances were enough to earn him a pair of 9/10 ratings from journalist Graham Smyth. Against the Citizens, he praised Calvert-Lewin for the fact that he ‘gave Leeds much more presence’ and said he ‘brought others into play’ superbly against the West Londoners.
With two goals in as many games and some good centre-forward performances outside of that, it is easy to see why Calvert-Lewin could be considered undroppable for Leeds. After a tough start, it seems like he has finally begun to show his best form.
It does seem unlikely that Farke will omit the striker from his starting XI ahead of the game against Liverpool on Saturday. Instead, he will be hoping he provide further troubles for Virgil van Dijk and the rest of the Reds’ defenders.
If Calvert-Lewin can replicate such a performance again, it will go a long way to helping Leeds achieve their goal of Premier League survival.
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