Leeds United have climbed out of the relegation zone after ending a run of four defeats with last night’s win over Chelsea, and Conor Coady says Leeds have the edge in the fight for survival.
Having earned some momentum with a superb second-half comeback against Man City, Daniel Farke used the same 3-5-2 system that worked at The Etihad, against Chelsea. It worked to perfection.
Two strikers up top put Chelsea under intense pressure and actually led to the second and third goals on the night, after Jaka Bijol had given Leeds the lead with a stunning header for his first-ever Leeds goal.
Leeds United’s player ratings in win against Chelsea 🥳
Dominic Calvert-Lewin scored a second goal in two games and his third for Leeds, while Ao Tanaka netted his first goal in the Premier League. Lukas Nmecha was unlucky not to make it four goals in four games.
He saw an effort disallowed for an offside earlier in the move, blasting an effort into the roof of the net. But Conor Coady saw enough from Leeds to say he feels they have the edge on West Ham and Burnley.
Conor Coady says Leeds duo are the difference in survival scrap
West Ham could easily climb back above Leeds into 17th, but they face a difficult trip to Manchester United on Thursday night. According to Coady, Leeds have the edge over their relegation rivals.
With the belief that Wolves could already be down, Leeds are battling to be better than two other sides and Coady feels Nmecha and Calvert-Lewin can provide the difference, during his analysis on BBC Sport.
“What I always look at with teams down there [at the bottom of the table] is the firepower they have up top. Those two they have, Calvert-Lewin and Nmecha, are a handful. Compare them to the other teams.
“West Ham have Callum Wilson but you look at Wolves, Burnley, do they score many goals? Those two up top will score goals [for Leeds]. They are going to be a massive part in how Leeds do this season,” he said.
The highlights of stunning Leeds United win v Chelsea 😍
How Calvert-Lewin and Nmecha compare to relegation rivals
After his tap-in against Chelsea, Calvert-Lewin now has three goals and two in two, while Nmecha has four. Two of which were penalties, albeit, the second penalty was a tap-in after his spot-kick was saved.
That isn’t a bad return at this stage of the season from the duo, who will both be targeting double digits come the end of the campaign. It is not as if Leeds are struggling to score goals in the Premier League.
Compared to West Ham and Burnley, Zian Flemming has four goals for the Clarets while Callum Wilson has also produced four. But Leeds have two strikers scoring, whereas Burnley and West Ham have one.
Things are looking good for Leeds and Farke, it doesn’t feel like the win over Chelsea was a one-off and even if Leeds lose to Liverpool on Saturday, the momentum is back and certainly, Liverpool will be tested.
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