In the first of five games in the space of 16 days, Leeds United got off to the perfect start of a quick succession of games as Wilfried Gnonto scored a late winner for The Whites.
A game that looked as if it would not deliver many goals but produced a seven-goal thriller in Wales, as Leeds came from behind twice before finally securing a win, a ninth win in their 16th Championship game.
Daniel Farke now has 32 points from 16 league games this season – after 90 from 46 last term. Farke has 1.97 points per game in the regular Championship season, which sees Farke outperform Marcelo Bielsa.
Sunday was a game key to securing automatic promotion, a sentiment Manor Solomon expressed after Leeds won 4-3. But one Leeds player was on fire once again, showing remarkable consistency again.
Leeds have the ‘best player in the world’ according to Gnonto
Dan James got two assists and arguably three, Wilfried Gnonto broke his draught of six games with the winner and Solomon netted a brace. Excellent in attack as Leeds exploited space, but shaky defensively.
Farke says Joe Rodon and Pascal Struijk are the best centre-backs in the Championship, but they were poor on Sunday. One player that starred again though, was Ao Tanaka – voted the Player of the Match.
Not only is Ao Tanaka the best-performing midfielder in England’s top-four tiers, but he’s the “best player in the world” according to Gnonto. The Italian said as much on Tanaka’s Instagram post today.
Ao Tanaka’s stats for Leeds in crucial win against Swansea
Leeds’ October Player of the Month, Tanaka has been excellent. This was only his ninth start for Leeds since coming into the side against Norwich City after Ethan Ampadu’s injury against Coventry City.
Ao Tanaka stats for Leeds against Swansea:
- A massive 14 duels won, 19 attempted
- 72 touches, 42 successful passes, 47 attempted
- 16 defensive actions, seven tackles
- Two interceptions, nine recoveries
And yet, Tanaka is playing like a player that has been in the Championship for years – and indeed, the Premier League. Tanaka has only ever played in Japan and Germany’s second tier, yet he is starring.
Ball rentenion, ball recovery, forward passing, transitional play – he’s got all you want from a deep-lying midfielder. Farke said he wanted to sign Tanaka in the summer of 2023 and at £3.4m, it is easy to see why.
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