Simon Grayson has lauded one Leeds United player on Instagram after the Whites were knocked out of the FA Cup by Chelsea on Wednesday night.
Daniel Farke‘s side can be incredibly proud of their showing at Stamford Bridge. Despite the turmoil Mauricio Pochettino’s side are in, Leeds went into the game as underdogs. And Farke did not go full strength against the Blues.
Nevertheless, it was only in the 90th minute that Chelsea found their winner. It was a sickener in the moment. However, there were so many positives.
Simon Grayson lauds Archie Gray after Leeds’ FA Cup tie
Of course, Mateo Joseph scored twice. But there was also a statement performance from Archie Gray, who started in the middle of the park alongside former Chelsea youngster Ethan Ampadu.
It is the partnership which started the season for Leeds. But of course, both men have been more frequently seen in the backline over the last few months.
Some may have wondered whether Gray would struggle back in midfield against the likes of Enzo Fernandez and Moises Caicedo. But that was not the case at all.
Certainly, former Leeds boss Simon Grayson was full of praise on Instagram for the 17-year-old’s display following the full-time whistle on Wednesday night…
Midfielder almost did too well on the big stage
No player on either side completed more dribbles than Gray, according to Whoscored. That just provides an insight into the the bravery and fearlessness the teenager has right now. He also made a couple of key challenges.
In fact, you cannot say that Gray is anything other than a key first-team player at this point. He has passed virtually every test he has come up against this season, many with flying colours.
If anything, with Leeds going out of the cup, we probably could have done with Gray not playing so well. That was the kind of performance a lot of sides will have taken real note of.
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