'Lethal' - Dominic Calvert-Lewin's instant reaction to Leeds United goal vs Sunderland speaks volumes
The Leeds United striker's second-half finish earned a point at the Stadium of Light.
A confident Dominic Calvert-Lewin has backed himself to continue being ‘lethal’ in the box after scoring his eighth goal of the season at Sunderland on Sunday.
The in-form striker cancelled out Simon Adingra’s first-half opener to earn Leeds United a 1-1 draw at the Stadium of Light. Daniel Farke’s side were on the back foot after conceding and losing Joe Rodon to an injury, but rallied to extend their unbeaten run to five games.
Key to that has been Calvert-Lewin and he was perfectly placed to stroke home Brenden Aaronson’s cross shortly after-half-time, once again finding joy between the posts. His finish rounded off a brilliant move from front to back in which every single Leeds player touched the ball.
“Obviously we had a long passage of play, keeping possession and I was just focusing on staying in the right place at the right time,” Calvert-Lewin told Sky Sports. “Me and Brenden came close in the first half with something similar, so just tried to produce the same movement. Thankfully Brenden found me and I was able to put the ball in the back of the net.
“I think it is something that when you find a good rhythm and a good momentum, the timing seems to come with it. As a centre-forward, you can make a lot of runs sometimes and not get the ball. You need a lot of things to come together for it to be a goal. Thankfully at the moment my form is good, and I'm getting in the right places and I'm scoring goals.
Dominic Calvert-Lewin on ‘lethal’ Leeds United form
“It's just nice. Everything feels quite fluid at the moment and as I said before, I'm getting in the right areas and players are finding me. I think it's taken a little bit of time for players around me to learn my game and what I'm good at - but I like to think when I get service, I'm lethal in the box."
Calvert-Lewin’s goalscoring run is forcing statisticians to look deep into Leeds history as the first Leeds player to score in six consecutive games since 1960. Not since 1930 has a Whites player netted in seven straight games but with confidence through the roof, few would rule out the 28-year-old from bagging again at Anfield on New Year’s Day.
"It's nice to achieve those things on a personal level,” he added. “But for me I think the more pleasing thing is the performances we've been putting in as a team and a the results we've been getting.
"I think in the first half we were slow to get out the blocks. We could have done more and made it hard for ourselves. In the second half we were much, much better and that makes me proud."