Leeds United have finally picked up another win this season in the Premier League on their own patch.
Before Friday night’s clash versus lowly West Ham United, the Whites’ last home success in the league stretched way back to the opening day.
Now, however, the Elland Road hoodoo has been lifted, as a quickfire double early into the tense game handed Daniel Farke’s men a much-needed 2-1 win to shove the Hammers further into their relegation pit.
Several top performers on the night ensured the three points were secured, as Leeds thankfully broke out of a run of three games without a victory in league action.
Leeds United's top performers against West Ham
Leeds fans, heading into this Friday night clash under the Elland Road floodlights, would have been lamenting their side’s recent wasteful displays in league action, having notched up 14 efforts on the Burnley goal at Turf Moor in a dire 2-0 defeat.
This wastefulness wasn’t on display against Nuno Espirito Santo’s lax visitors, however, as a first-half sucker-punch gifted Leeds a two-goal cushion after just 15 minutes had ticked away, with Brenden Aaronson getting the show on the road when converting a rebound after only three minutes.
Aaronson was a bright spark all night long, away from merely this crucial contribution, with 100% of his dribbles being successfully completed, making him a notable thorn in the side of a leaky West Ham outfit.
With 80% of his ground duels won as well, it’s fair to say everyone was singing the American’s praises come the full-time whistle, despite Farke stating at the full-time whistle that he can often be a “polarising” presence.
Joe Rodon would also be lathered with praise come the end of the 2-1 win when connecting with this sweetly taken corner to double his Premier League goal tally for the season, with Sean Longstaff also boosting his assist haul in the process, as the Welshman was left with plenty of space to head past a busy Alphonse Aréola.
Lucas Perri also stood out in between the sticks on his return to the Leeds XI, having had to calmly palm away an acrobatic Jarrod Bowen effort right after Aaronson’s instinctive opener. He was so close to a clean sheet, too, only for Mateus Fernandes to grab a Hammers consolation effort at the death.
Yet, despite the relief of a win being notched up, not every Whites first-teamer performed at their very best against the East Londoners, with this rusty individual in danger of losing his spot in Farke’s main team, as games come thick and fast in November.
The 6/10 Leeds star who could now be dropped
Of course, there will be concerns in West Yorkshire that Dominic Calvert-Lewin went another game without a Leeds strike, especially when coming up against such a charitable Hammers defence.
Still, nobody could deny the number nine’s determined work ethic for his team, with eight duels won in total when he has thrown into the thick of action.
Minutes played
72
Goals scored
0
Assists
0
Touches
37
Shots
1
Accurate passes
25/29 (86%)
Key passes
0
Total duels won
1/3
On the contrary, Ao Tanaka would exit the contest on the 72nd mark with zero of his ground duels being successfully won, as Farke potentially prepares to reshuffle his midfield pack for the test of Brighton and Hove Albion away at the start of next month, away from starting the Japanese gem again.
Indeed, while Ethan Ampadu and the aforementioned Longstaff made their presences widely known – as Ampadu successfully won three ground duels from his 66 touches of the ball – number 22 faded in and out of the clash, with Tanaka actually amassing fewer touches than Perri come the full-time whistle at 37 touches, next to the ex-Lyon stopper’s tally of 51.
Tanaka’s quiet performance was picked up on by Yorkshire Evening Post journalist Graham Smyth, with Smyth reserving high 9/10 ratings for the likes of Aaronson, but the former Fortuna Düsseldorf man would only receive a middle-of-the-road 6/10 appraisal after the dust had settled on the 2-1 win.
Smyth would simply note that Tanaka’s showing was a ‘mixed bag’ as the 27-year-old fell victim to being ‘outmuscled’ a couple of times, as evidenced by him losing 100% of his ground duels.
It will be interesting to see if Farke is tempted to drop Tanaka as tough games away at Brighton, Nottingham Forest, and Manchester City come onto his team’s agenda, with the number 22’s slight off-day very much sticking out as one rare negative, during what was a largely very positive showing against the relegation-threatened visitors.