Daniel Farke says Leeds United have an ‘outstanding’ player who has seriously impressed him recently

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Leeds United strengthened their position at the top of the Championship table with a 1-0 win over Derby County away from home, after results went their way earlier in the day.

Sheffield United failed to beat West Brom and an injury-time winner saw Stoke City beat Sunderland, just days after Leeds had surpassed Stoke at the Bet365 Stadium. Leeds then, had an opportunity at Derby.

A win would see Leeds go two clear of Sheffield United and become the first team to reach 50 points this season. Leeds did just that but were made to work hard for the win, before Brenden Aaronson scored.

The USA star ran onto Joel Piroe’s perfectly-cushioned pass to slot home the winner on 79 minutes. It came after Daniel Farke had made a raft of changes, but none of them really made a telling impact.

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Ethan Ampadu earns Daniel Farke praise after win vs Derby

Leeds fans criticised Largie Ramazani during the game after he was one of four changes made by Farke. But the game swung in Leeds’ favour when Manor Solomon, Dan James and Piroe came into the game.

Solomon and Piroe combined for Aaronson’s winner but it was Ethan Ampadu that worked hard to maintain a 14th clean sheet, and the need for only one goal. Farke raved about Ampadu after the game.

“I thought he was outstanding in the last game. His defensive awareness, his steel. He drives the game forward. He was out for such a long time and showed what he can do,” Farke told his press conference.

Ethan Ampadu’s stats in win against Derby County on Sunday

Almost, faultless in is work off the ball and his ability to wins players up and get in their heads. With Ao Tanaka and Joe Rothwell, Leeds had a beautifully-gifted midfield technically, but it lacked real grit.

Ethan Ampadu’s stats for Leeds in win over Derby:

• 90 mins played, 7.9 FotMob rating (second-best)
• 75 touches, 39/56 passes, 20 passes into final third
• Six defensive actions, six recoveries
• 18 duels entered, 13 duels won (best on pitch)

With Ampadu back, Leeds have that again and away from home, the Whites are much more of a strong unit. That is, even after considering Ampadu actually misplaced 17 of his 56 attempted passes at Derby,

Leeds now have a few days to recover quickly following two games in three days as The Whites return to Elland Road to face Farke’s nemesis. Blackburn boss John Eustace has beaten Farke in all three meetings.