Spectacular though their performances might have been, the Elland Road faithful didn’t learn anything they did not already know about Dan James, Manor Solomon, Brenden Aaronson and co during Leeds United’s 7-0 thrashing of Cardiff City.
As the trio each got their names on the scoresheet, Leeds United cruising to their biggest home win since 1972, this was merely a continuation of the exceptional form the three attackers have shown since really early in December.
Daniel Farke thinks Jayden Bogle has been Leeds’ ‘outstanding’ performer in recent weeks, meanwhile, and he was near faultless again as Cardiff were put to the sword. Joe Rothwell, Ao Tanaka and particularly Junior Firpo – doubling his assist tally for 2024/25 in one half – had fine games too.
But if there was one Leeds player who went into Saturday’s fixture with a point to prove, it was Joel Piroe.
A striker who had scored only once in his previous six games. And with Leeds determined to sign Cameron Archer from Southampton before the deadline – Chelsea youngster Marc Guiu was linked this weekend too – Piroe really could have done with a goal or two in order to quieten the demand for another centre-forward.
It’s fair to say that, if Piroe needed to prove a point, he did just that. Emphatically, too.
Joel Piroe silences doubters and proves he’s Leeds United’s ‘best finisher’
In addition to his 30-minute brace – coolly slotting home a penalty before finishing stylishly in stoppage time – the Dutchman produced arguably his most complete performance as a Leeds player.
Farke asks asks Joel Piroe to drop deep and link the play, often with rather mixed results.
But against Cardiff, it was he who provided the spark for so many of the home side’s most dangerous attacks. Piroe slid two perfectly-weighted through balls to Dan James as Leeds stormed into a 2-0 lead inside 13 minutes, the Welshman eventually providing the assists for Aaronson and Solomon.
The £10 million signing from Swansea again picked up the ball outside the penalty area in the build up to the spot-kick he himself would convert just after half-time.
“He’s the best finisher at this football club Joel Piroe, and he proved it,” former Leeds striker Michael Bridges smiled following the most one-sided victory of the campaign. “He makes that penalty look easy.
“He hasn’t got the running power and the pace to be the man who is going to be the ball over the top. What I liked about his performance [against Cardiff], and I admire so much as a striker, is the way that he has understood his role and his responsibility.
“‘I’ll drop in, I’ll make it tough for the defenders to go and mark us. If somebody does, it’s going to [create] a gap’.”
“We’ve got people with pace – Dan James, Solomon, Willy Gnonto – that are going to break through those gaps. He understood his role perfectly today and we are going to thrive on it.”
Stuart Dallas impressed by ‘brilliant’ Piroe display
Farke is certainly aware of the strengths and weaknesses in the striker’s game.
The Leeds boss accepts that Joel Piroe isn’t the quickest or ‘unbelievably mobile’ off the ball. What he does add, however, is a lethal streak in front of goal. In 136 Championship starts for Leeds and Swansea City, Piroe has now scored 67 times.
Farke still wants the club’s number ten to further develop his link play between the lines, however, and his display against Cardiff was a massive step forward in that regard.
“[Piroe] has come in for a bit of criticism throughout the season. He probably hasn’t scored as many goals as, by his own admission, [he would have liked],” ex-Leeds utility man Stuart Dallas adds. “But, when he gets a chance, he tends to score more than he misses.
“I liked his all-round play today. When he drops deep, as he did for the first two goals, its important to have runners in behind. His footwork his brilliant, so he can receive the ball in tight spaces as well.
“The manager has alluded to it in recent weeks, he scores goals at this level.”
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