Leeds United difference-makers emerge at 'toxic' Wolves as 9/10 star banishes Fulham nightmare
Leeds United’s performance at Wolves deserved all three points and below are five key talking points as the YEP sees them.
Leeds United broke their open-play goal duck and got three points to boot on Saturday with a 3-1 win at Wolves.
Daniel Farke’s side looked set for a difficult afternoon at Molineux after going behind inside eight minutes, courtesy of Ladislav Krejci. But a quickfire trio of goals from Dominic Calvert-Lewin, Anton Stach and Noah Okafor turned the game on its head before half-time.
The Whites got themselves in the ascendancy and were able to see out a second-half in which Wolves grew increasingly desperate. Three points sends Leeds into the top-half of the Premier League for now and below, the YEP takes a look at five key talking points from the game.
First-team involvement for Harry Gray
All eyes were on the teamsheet on Saturday to see if one of Dan James or Willy Gnonto had been passed fit. Neither made it, unfortunately, but those two absences opened up space for the returning Joel Piroe and a certain Harry Gray, fresh of scoring a midweek hat-trick for the Under-21s against Scunthorpe.
Admittedly, Gray’s involvement was one born out of necessity, with Gnonto and James missing from an attacking unit that was already short. But even with Calvert-Lewin, Lukas Nmecha and Piroe ahead in the pecking order, a Premier League game on the bench will have been a great experience for the 16-year-old who has been a hot topic of conversation this week.
"He needs training sessions with the first team to get used to proper physicality of men's football," Farke said of Gray on Thursday, having once again been quizzed on potentially playing the teenager. "He needs game time with the 21s to not lose his rhythm and confidence and striker instinct. What he needs most is time and peace in order to grow. You will see him once he's prepared for Premier League games and then we can speak about him more.”
A proper striker’s performance
Gray has ambitions of becoming a top Premier League striker and so an afternoon watching Calvert-Lewin in that type of form could prove invaluable. The 28-year-old was the man to break Leeds’ open-play duck, producing a brilliant header after Jayden Bogle’s deep cross found him between Wolves defenders.
But it wasn’t just the goal. Calvert-Lewin’s performance was that of an all-round striker every relegation-battling team would want. He fought Wolves’ physical defenders all day, holding up long balls to either win free-kicks or produce a deft touch to an on-rushing teammate.
As Leeds sat a little deeper and looked to get up the pitch, he ran channels and was a constant pest of Wolves defenders turning back towards their own goal. Calvert-Lewin got a rapturous applause when coming off for Nmecha in added-time, having shown exactly why Elland Road chiefs thought he was worth the gamble in summer.
Gudmundsson’s resilience
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When Gabriel Gudmundsson headed into his own net at Craven Cottage last weekend, the over-riding hope among fans was that it wouldn’t derail an otherwise promising start to the defender’s Leeds career. On Saturday’s evidence, there is no chance of that.
Gudmundsson picked up where he left off pre-own goal, darting forward and connecting brilliantly with Stach or Okafor. The Swede was Leeds’ best attacking player in the first-half and should have got at least one assist after bursting beyond the Wolves back-line, but for his crosses not finding a teammate.
With Leeds two goals up throughout the second-half, Gudmundsson then took to defending his side of the pitch brilliantly and earned a 9/10 in Graham Smyth’s player ratings. That Fulham own-goal is a distant memory already.
Getting toxic at Wolves
While the general consensus was Leeds looked decent from their opening four games, a lack of open-play threat was the source of some unrest among fans. There was a little tension when Wolves went ahead inside eight minutes but it was nothing like the dissent shown by most inside Molineux from 30 minutes onwards.
Granted, patience will be thin off the back of four straight defeats but Wolves fans really made their dissatisfaction clear and those on the pitch appeared to crumble under the pressure. Okafor’s goal in particular came from a nothing moment, with Stach intercepting a quick free-kick attempt and simply playing his teammate in to score.
The half-time and full-time whistles were met with a loud chorus of boos, while every small mistake or questionable decision kicked off groans and moans inside Molineux. That will be music to Leeds ears, knowing they need to finish above at least one established Premier League team.
Quickly changing tides
It’s a fickle world, football. Granted, Wolves are one of the Premier League’s worst defences but all of a sudden, it became possible to see how Leeds might go about scoring this season.
Calvert-Lewin’s head should be a source of regular chances and hopefully goals, while free-kick taker Stach went from hitting the first man to hitting the top corner. Okafor's pace and direct running will cause problems for high lines or anyone caught out of position.
Better defences will provide a sterner test, namely upcoming Elland Road visitors Bournemouth and Tottenham Hotspur, but it’s a relief to see things working how they should. More of the same please, Leeds.