Leeds United made it back-to-back wins at Elland Road with a narrow 2-1 victory over Watford.
The Whites raced into a two-goal after just seven minutes after two poor pieces of goalkeeping by Daniel Bachmann, with Largie Ramazani and Brenden Aaronson both on the scoresheet.
Ramazani’s injury just 15 minutes in seemed to knock the steam out of Leeds and after Kwadwo Baah halved the deficit just two minutes after the break, Daniel Farke‘s side had to work to see out the win.
Mateo Joseph, Joel Piroe, Manor Solomon and Dan James all missed chances to seal it, but thankfully Leeds held firm at the other end.
Leeds are now up to second in the Championship heading into tonight’s fixtures, with Sunderland away Luton Town, and Burnley travelling to face Hull City.
What Farke did to Struijk after Leeds win
Pascal Struijk was uncharacteristically beaten easily for Watford’s goal, but aside from that, dealt with a very physical striker in Baah quite well.
The Leeds captain was on the end of at least two really strong challenges in either half, and will no doubt have left last night’s match knowing he was in a battle.
However, those are the sort of wins defenders will be absolutely love picking up, and according to BBC Radio Leeds presenter Louis Reynolds, Farke ensured Struijk received the plaudits.
Reynolds revealed post-match how Farke encouraged Struijk to receive the applause of the crowd after such a battling display, with the Elland Road faithful returning the favour.
He said: “Daniel Farke having a word with Pascal Struijk, telling him to take it all in, telling him to go and applaud the crowd and receive his applaud back. Great to see.”
Struijk stats vs Watford
Surprisingly, Struijk was considerably busier against Watford than he was in the win over Sheffield United, with Baah arguably the toughest striker he has faced this season.
However, Struijk more than stood up to the challenge, both aerially and on the ground when it came to winning his duels.
| Stat | Struijk |
| Clearances | Five |
| Interceptions | Three |
| Tackles | One |
| Ground duels | 6(4) |
| Aerial duels | 6(4) |
| Fouled | Three |
Receive a digest of our best Leeds content each week direct to your mailbox
