Leeds United man gets 'no criticism' from Daniel Farke amid praise for summer signing leader

Leeds United Man of the Match Sean Longstaff was 'outstanding' against Bournemouth in Daniel Farke's eyes but he had praise for Dominic Calvert-Lewin too despite his misses.

Longstaff came off the pitch with an assist, a goal and the Man of the Match award for putting together a complete midfield performance in the 2-2 draw with the Cherries.

The former Newcastle United man popped up all over the pitch to make tackles, keep the ball and get Leeds moving forward. His corners created problems and one was headed into the net by Joe Rodon for Leeds' first goal. The second goal was a sublime strike from the outside of Longstaff's right boot.

"Outstanding performance, Man of the Match performance," said Farke. "Scored a goal, was there with an assist, his workload against the ball, his composure on the ball, his tactical understanding, also body language and leadership on the pitch, off the pitch, we are pretty blessed and happy that we have him."

Longstaff's leadership was seen in moments when he turned to his team-mates to bark encouragement but Farke says what the midfielder does outweighs whatever it is he says on the pitch.

“This is what leaders are doing”

"It's not too much about talking," said the German. "It's more important what you do on the pitch, walking the walk.

“In the necessary moments to win a tackle, to win a duel, to show confidence and to concentrate, to keep the ball in a difficult situation. This is what leaders are doing. If they're a great talker then top, but for me the most important thing is that he leads by example on the pitch. Top performance from him today."

Gabriel Gudmundsson continued his early season form with a performance that rivalled Longstaff's but just lacked the same end product. Calvert-Lewin was the only other man who could have rivalled the central midfielder but his finishing deserted him. ]

“If he keeps going like this, and I'm pretty sure he will”

Leeds' number 9 ran clean through inside the first 20 seconds but failed to find the net, then spurned two further golden opportunities before the 20-minute mark. But Farke believes the striker is on the right track and did his job well.

"Normally he scores out of this situation," said Farke. "I think again, excellent performance and would have also been there with a Man of the Match performance, standing ovation after the substitution. Great workload for the team. Great performance. And on a good day, scores two or three today.

“Sometimes it's the fate of the striker. Sometimes you score an outstanding goal, like last weekend, from what was perhaps even a bit more difficult chance than the situations today, and for that, and no criticism. We're all just happy that we have him. And if he keeps going like this, and I'm pretty sure he will score many goals.