Ethan Ampadu publicly disagrees with the official and popular football legend who referred to him as a “toxic captain”
Leeds United player ratings vs Fulham with Gabriel Gudmundsson and Brenden Aaronson great
Find out how Leeds United’s players rated against Fulham in tonight’s Premier League clash
Lukas Nmecha was the surprise Leeds United hero with a stoppage-time winner in Saturday’s deserved 1-0 win over Fulham. Nmecha had endured a torrid cameo appearance with everything he touched going wrong until the dramatic winner.
The first half saw Leeds create the better opportunities, including Brenden Aaronson’s gilt-edged chance, where he spooned a bouncing ball over the bar when through on goal.
Dominic Calvert-Lewin went close with a side-netted effort after Harry Wilson’s cynical tackle raised the temperature inside Elland Road. Leeds tried to press for the winner but poor set-pieces stifled their potency.
Just as it looked as though the game was heading for a goalless draw, Nmecha popped up in front of the defender to prod home.. Here are how the players rated.
Karl Darlow – Calm and collected when the ball came back to him, even when holding a high position and under pressure. Not every long ball worked, mind. One hairy moment when he miskicked a clearance while out of his net but got away with it. Clean sheet. 7
Jayden Bogle – Got himself into good positions up the field. Used his intellect to play Aaronson in for his first half chance. 7
James Justin – Workman-like, being careful to hold position but spying the chance to go forward. Solid and reliable. 8
Joe Rodon – Kept his teammates on his toes and covered well. Was commanding his back line and brought the ball out. Didn’t see much of the ball but positioning was perfect. 8
Pascal Strujik – Lacked confidence with his play early on, including in duels. Was mostly good aerially at both ends, though, going close to scoring in a couple of occasions. 8
Gabriel Gudmundsson – Mopped up expertly a number of times and didn’t let anything past him. Should have done better when put through on the left just after the hour. 8
Ilia Gruev – Was seen both dropping into the back line and moving forward to press the defence. Set-pieces weren’t brilliant. 6
Ethan Ampadu – Played the anchor role with simple passes and brining the ball out from the tackle. Kept the ball moving at all times. Long throws were not as effective as usual. Got the assist for the goal, so an extra mark for that. 8
Brenden Aaronson – Really positive and productive, full of confidence but missed a glorious chance he ought to have buried when put through. Put it behind him well and continued to win duels and look forward. 8
Dominic Calvert-Lewin – Won a number of knock-downs, albeit to not much avail in the first half. Came very close just before the hour mark with a swipe into the side netting. Offside too often. 7
Noah Okafor – Erratic in with his final bit of play, be it a cross or a shot. Still not doing enough overall, being out of the game for large periods although did play a nice ball into Gudmundsson for his crossing chance. 6
SUBS
Wilfried Gnonto (on 70′ for Okafor) – A few neat touches but tried a shot needlessly when he had two defenders in front of him. 6
Lukas Nmecha (81′ Bogle) – After what was a nightmare cameo with nearly everything going wrong, he made up for it when a super finish. Came on too late for a proper rating. N/A
Ao Tanaka (on 81′ for Gruev) – Came on too late for rating. N/A
Sebastiaan Bornauw (on 90+4′ Aaronson) – Came on too late for rating. N/A
MANAGER: Daniel Farke – No complaints with the line up given the injury absences, having made a big call with the goalkeeper that paid off with a clean sheet. Was careful not to disrupt the rhythm of the team with changes too soon with Leeds on top. Ultimately was the right call. 8
