Leeds United will arrive at Thorp Arch on Monday with mixed emotions after the draw against Bournemouth on Saturday, failing to secure all three points, and conceding in injury time.
Leeds went behind for the second game in a row, but came from behind to go in front. At Wolves, Leeds won 3-1 after initially going behind, and on Saturday, Antoine Semenyo put Bournemouth in front.
But goals from Joe Rodon and Sean Longstaff put Leeds in front. Goals that will please Daniel Farke, as Leeds showed they can score from all areas of the pitch. That is now seven different scorers this season.
However, like Fulham, Leeds conceded in injury time. Eli Junior Kroupi’s volley broke hearts, even though a point against Bournemouth is still a very solid result. Leeds would be in sixth, if there was no injury time.
Simon Jordan says what he noticed about Dominic Calvert-Lewin
Dominic Calvert-Lewin was looking for a second goal in two games on Saturday, after opening his account against Wolves at Molineux. He had the chances, the first coming inside the first 20 seconds.
A miss-hit shot from Longstaff saw Calvert-Lewin poke at goal, instinctive. But Djordje Petrovic was just as instinctive, a good save. His best chance, a header after a brilliant overhead kick from Brenden Aaronson.
But his header was weak and Petrovic did the rest. Simon Jordan discussed Calvert-Lewin’s performance on TalkSPORT (11.40, 29/09), and said that Calvert-Lewin needs to be more clinical to help Leeds survive.
“If he had been a bit more clinical on Saturday, Leeds could have got a result,” Jordan said, discussing how close Leeds were to winning the game. He’s going to be a key component, isn’t he, Calvert-Lewin.
“He missed some sitters, a header. That’s it [should’ve scored inside 20 seconds], that’s my point. Leeds did to Bournemouth, what Bournemouth normally do to Leeds,” Jordan continued on Monday morning.
Dominic Calvert-Lewin’s stats for Leeds in Bournemouth draw
But Calvert-Lewin’s performance was not all about goals, or lack of. Jermaine Beckford said Calvert-Lewin was “unbelievable,” and he was right; his work off the ball and holding it up was crucial to Leeds’ display.
Ultimately, he was unable to top it off with a goal and that is what strikers get judged on, especially one with England caps on big wages. The stats show that Calvert-Lewin was good, despite missing “sitters”.
- 6.5 FotMob rating, 89 minutes played
- XG+XA: 0.74, three defensive contributions
- Three shots, three on target, five touches in opposition box
- 38 touches, 12/20 successful passes (60%)
- Seven duels won, 14 lost
One big positive regarding Calvert-Lewin is that the striker basically came through another 90 minutes. He is showing that he can remain fit and with every game, his match sharpness is going to return.
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