Tom Cleverley has given his reaction to his Watford side’s 2-2 draw with Leeds United last night.
Cleverley was taking charge of his first home match as interim boss of the Hornets and it was clear the home side were benefitting from a new manager bounce in the opening 45 minutes.
Leeds were forced to come from behind twice over the course of the match, with Crysencio Summerville first tying up the score after Vakoun Bayo had put Watford in front with the first goal against the Whites from open play in 2024.
However, Daniel Farke’s side did not have parity for long as former summer target Emmanuel Dennis tied Liam Cooper in knots before firing into the corner just before the break.
Leeds pushed and pushed for a leveller in the second half and eventually found it through substitute Mateo Joseph’s first league goal for the club.
After Ipswich Town’s win over Blackburn Rovers earlier in the day, Leeds are now down to second place but will probably feel satisfied to come away with a point.
Cleverley says Leeds have the best player in the league after Watford draw
It is fair to say the international break was not kind to Leeds as they lost all of Ilia Gruev, Willy Gnonto and Connor Roberts through injury.
Aside from Joe Rodon, it was also pretty evident that Leeds’ Welshmen had been involved in an intense 120 minute affair on Tuesday night, with Dan James also clearly feeling the effects of his missed penalty.
However, not all of Leeds’ players were away with their country and one of those was Summerville, who received a nice 12-day rest as a result.
Summerville was without doubt Leeds’ biggest threat all night and speaking to the press after the game, Watford boss Cleverley believes he is the best player in the league.
“We were the best side for 65 mins. I’m very proud of them. Brave in possession…. Playing with that much intensity its hard to hold on against a side like Leeds… who have the league’s best player in Summerville.”
Summerville can fire Leeds to promotion after 12 day rest
Prior to last night, Summerville had gone six matches without a goal in the Championship and it would, perhaps, be fair to say he was feeling the effects of the schedule.
However, it was clear to see he was the Leeds player heading into the game with fresh legs, as he caused Watford’s defence all kinds of problems down the left.
Not only was his goal probably his best of the season, but he also completed 100 per cent of his dribbles and on another night could’ve scored more than one.
Now that he is back to his best, he really could be the man that fires Leeds to promotion in the final seven matches.
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