Ahead of this afternoon’s clash between Sheffield United and West Brom, Leeds United returned to the top of the Championship with a comfortable 2-0 win over Derby County at Elland Road.
A predictable result given Leeds‘ form at Elland Road this season, Derby’s inconsistency and Illan Meslier already into double figures in terms of clean sheets. But the scorers were completely unpredictable.
Joe Rodon opened the scoring having failed to score a single goal in 158 prior games in English football, 68 of which have come in a Leeds shirt. Substitute Max Wober got himself on the score sheet as well.
Coming on for the injured Junior Firpo, Wober turned predatory striker in the penalty area to slam home Brenden Aaronson’s deflected cross. An 11th win of the season, but Daniel Farke still had bones to pick.
Daniel Farke was fuming with Leeds United star Pascal Struijk
It was a comfortable win for Leeds, with Derby managing one shot on target from long range that was easily dealt with by Illan Meslier. Derby played for a point and they got their just rewards in Yorkshire.
But the standards being set are high at Elland Road and that culminated in Farke ‘hopping with rage’ according to the Yorkshire Evening Post, when Struijk played a pass straight out of play in the second 45.
Graham Smyth reported in the off-camera moments that Farke was not impressed: “Farke hopping with rage in the second half, while 2-0 up, as Struijk overhit a pass out of play under no real pressure.”
Pascal Struijk’s stats from Leeds United’s win over Derby County
Struijk has played every single minute for Leeds, captaining The Whites in the last 12 Championship games with Ethan Ampadu sidelined. Ampadu of course, was back on the bench on Saturday afternoon.
Pascal Struijk’s stats for Leeds in win over Derby:
- 7.6 FotMob rating (joint fifth-highest with Jayden Bogle)
- 83 successful passes, 90 attempted (92%)
- Two tackles, three headed clearances, four recoveries
- Six duels won, two lost, fouled once
Of course, Farke rates Struijk highly. Recently, Farke actually described Rodon and Struijk as the best two central defenders in the Championship, but that will not stop the perfectionist from criticising his players.
Farke knows how to win the Championship and to get promoted and holding standards high will be a big part of that. Hopefully, Leeds can gather some momentum from Saturday when Middlesbrough visit.
Receive a digest of our best Leeds content each week direct to your mailbox
