What Leeds United danger-man has been doing in training after brilliant Wolves goal
Three Leeds United summer signings opened their accounts at Molineux on Saturday.
Noah Okafor has been doing extra work at Thorp Arch in a bid to get himself up to speed at new club Leeds United.
Okafor got his first goal in Leeds colours at Molineux on Saturday, following an £18million move from AC Milan in the summer. The Swiss winger swept home a brilliant finish into the far corner to make it 3-1 just before half-time, capitalising after a misplaced pass from Emmanuel Agbadou was intercepted by Anton Stach.
That proved to be the game’s final significant act, completing a swift turnaround that also saw Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Anton Stach open their respective Leeds accounts after Ladislav Krejčí’s eighth-minute opener. Daniel Farke’s side retained their two-goal lead throughout the second 45, opting to keep things and doing so without many major scares.
Victory pulled Leeds up towards mid-table while keeping their hosts rock-bottom and without a single point, also allaying any fears over a lack of open-play goal threat. Okafor was central to producing that threat and admits he’s been putting in the extra hours at Thorp Arch.
“I'm really happy about my first goal for this amazing club, but more happy about the three points,” Okafor told LUTV. “I think it was not that easy and it was a tough game, to be honest.
“In the first 10 minutes, we were a little bit unlucky to concede the goal, but then we stayed concentrated and we stayed confident. In the end, we did three fast goals and we deserved three points. I think the Premier League is the best league in the world, it's really tough.
“I try to give my best every training, do some extra work also to get on my highest level. But I think today I gave my best to help the team and now we have to enjoy the three points, but then look forward to the next two games before the national team break.”
Leeds United focus on future after impressive Wolves win
After a pair of long away trips to Fulham and Wolves, Leeds will stay much closer to home for the foreseeable future with home games against Bournemouth and Tottenham Hotspur to come. Farke’s side remain unbeaten at Elland Road this season, albeit with just a two-game sample size.
Seven points from five games briefly lifted Leeds into the top-half on Saturday and few will be disappointed to see them fall to 12th a day later, but as Farke said last week this decent start will stand for little if it doesn’t continue. And after opening his Premier League account in the Midlands, Okafor expects another high-energy week of training to set them up well for two difficult home games.
“We have to take every game seriously,” the 25-year-old added. “We have to fight for each point because we have big quality in the team. I see it in training, in every training, the energy is quite high and it is positive energy.
“I think this helps a lot to develop and to make the next step. We have to look forward and see it game by game.”