Leeds United heaped more misery on West Ham with a convincing - albeit slightly nervy late on - 2-1 victory at Elland Road on Friday night. Early goals from Brenden Aaronson and Joe Rodon proved enough to put a vital three points on the board for Daniel Farke’s side.
Leeds got off to a flying start when Aaronson opened the scoring inside three minutes, finishing from close range after Noah Okafor’s header was saved by goalkeeper Alphonse Areola. Thigs got even better for the Whites on 15 minutes, with the unmarked Rodon heading home Sean Longstaff’s corner to make it 2-0.
West Ham thought they’d pulled a goal back jut beyond the half-hour mark when Lucas Paqueta fired in off the crossbar, but for a delayed offside call to eventually be confirmed by VAR which sent Leeds in 2-0 up at the break. Mateus Fernandes did find the Whites net with a late header but it proved little more than a consolation as all three points remained at Elland Road.
YEP chief football writer Graham Smyth was at Elland Road and here are his Leeds United player ratings...
13. Sub: Jack Harrison
7 - Sensible on the ball, worked back, dug in. A solid substitute showing. | Getty Images
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14. Sub: Ilia Gruev
6 - Got stuck in when he could, ran around. Took one for the team with the yellow card. | Getty Images
15. Sub: Daniel James
6 - Unable to do much in possession but defended with the rest. | Getty Images
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16. Sub: Lukas Nmecha
6 - Tried to do the Calvert-Lewin role, with mixed results. Won an important stoppage time free-kick. | Getty Images
17. Referee: Stuart Attwell
4 - Bizarrely fussy at times. Insisted Leeds players went off the pitch in a couple of baffling moments. Missed a few things for both sides. | AFP via Getty Images