Leeds United player topped the charts on Friday night despite only coming on as a substitute in win over Sheffield United

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Leeds United picked up a huge win over rivals Sheffield United on Friday night in a massive signal of intent to the rest of the Championship – and one player reminded Daniel Farke what he can do.

Goals from Mateo Joseph and Pascal Struijk proved to be decisive as Leeds picked up a sixth clean sheet in their 11th Championship game. A fifth league win of the season took Leeds into second, for a bit.

Burnley’s win over Sheffield Wednesday has seen them go top, with Sunderland in action against Hull on Sunday afternoon. It has seen Leeds slip to third, but the win was a massive moment for Leeds this term.

Especially, against a side that had not conceded since August and were unbeaten in the Championship until now. But Friday night saw one Leeds player send a reminder to Farke having been recently dropped.

• READ MORE: Luca Thomas scores on debut for new club after leaving Leeds on loan last week

Mateo Joseph ahead of any other player on Friday in key stat

The Leeds striker came onto the field of play on 79 minutes, replacing Largie Ramazani. Just as the clock approached 90 minutes, Joseph was slipped through on goal by Joel Piroe and he netted emphatically.

His goal sent Elland Road into raptures, as he outmuscled a Sheffield United defender to get on the end of Piroe’s perfectly-weighted pass to net his second goal of the season for the Whites during 2024-24.

But, his goal also saw him sit top of the charts in terms of one stat from the game. According to FotMob, Joseph had a better Expected Goals rating than any other player despite only playing for 11 minutes.

Mateo Joseph’s rating miles ahead of any Sheffield United player

The Spain U21 striker had an XG of 0.42, which was just 0.02 ahead of a Leeds teammate in summer signing Ramazani. Six Leeds players were ahead of Sheffield United’s top XG rating of just 0.10.

It gives Farke plenty of food for thought ahead of Tuesday night when Leeds go to Tom Cleverley’s Watford. Does he stick with the club’s top scorer in Joel Piroe, or does he bring Joseph back into the side?

Leeds will face a tricky test against the Hornets who have made a solid start to the 2024-25 campaign. It will also see Leeds face the sixth of the seven other sides in the top eight in the Championship table.