Lukas Nmecha scored his third goal of the season for Leeds United and is now the club’s top scorer, but he knew very little about it, and Mark Clattenburg has explained whether it was the right decision.
With the deadlock yet to be broken, Sean Longstaff whipped in a gorgeous free-kick which Gabriel Gudmundsson put up into the air. Anton Stach leaped above Emi Martinez, and the ball went in.
Who was your Leeds United MOTM against Aston Villa?
There were several issues VAR looked at before awarding the goal. Whether Gudmundsson was offside from the initial free-kick, whether Stach had fouled Emi Martinez, and whether Stach actually handled.
There were even suggestions of a little nudge from Nmecha on Martinez, which hindered the Argentine’s leap. However, the goal was given and VAR did not overturn the decision. Mark Clattenburg has agreed.
Mark Clattenburg delivers verdict on Leeds United goal v Villa
Obviously, the awarding of the goal pales into insignificance in terms of the result now, with Villa going on to win 2-1 and Leeds shooting themselves in the foot again. The pressure is piling on Daniel Farke.
But speaking to LeedsUnited.News, Clattenburg does not believe there was anything worth turning over from VAR’s perspective and it is simply a case of Stach’s bravery to win the header above Martinez.
“Leeds United’s opening goal v Villa was checked by VAR. Anton Stach did nothing wrong in challenging Emi Martinez for the ball as he jumped higher and more bravely than Martinez to win the ball.
“The technology ruled the defender was playing the Leeds player onside. VAR would have checked for a potential handball by the goal scorer, but there was no suggestion of the ball hitting the arm,” he said.
Stephen Warnock gave his verdict on Leeds United’s goal
From a player’s perspective, former Leeds captain Stephen Warnock gave his verdict on the goal. The left-back explained how he felt Martinez was to blame, suggesting the Argentine didn’t cover himself in glory.
“Goalkeepers are a protected species. It is a big moment in the game. They needed an opportunity, Leeds. Villa don’t defend it convincingly at all and Martinez doesn’t cover himself in glory at all,” Warnock said.
Nmecha was probably one of the only Leeds players to come out of the game with pass marks. In our player ratings, LeedsUnited.News handed Nmecha a rating of 8/10, joint-first with defender Joe Rodon.
But it was not enough. Leeds remain in the relegation zone after five defeats in six games and Farke’s role as manager is now under intense scrutiny going into games against Man City, Chelsea and Liverpool.
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