Leeds United Bounce back to your winning ways championship On Saturday, they defeated Oxford United 4-0 at Elland Road.
Goals from Dan James, Jayden Bogle, Manor Solomon and Brenden Aaronson secured the three points for the Whites, after they failed to beat Preston North End at Deepdale last weekend.
Daniel WakeLiverpool needed an own goal in stoppage time to earn a point in Lancashire, but they showed their true quality at the top of the pitch with a ruthless display in West Yorkshire this time around.
One of the stars of the show for Leeds in the comprehensive win at Elland Road was Tottenham Hotspur loanee Solomon, who scored his goal. Third of the season.
Manor Solomon's performance against Oxford
The striker created the opening goal by running into the penalty area down the left flank before passing a perfect ball for James to fire home from close range.
Solomon recorded his second assist of the afternoon for the third goal of the game, playing a brilliant pass into the path of Aaronson – who controlled brilliantly and produced a calm finish past Jamie Cumming.
The Israel international then put his name on the scoresheet with a powerful shot from the near post that was too powerful for the Oxford goalkeeper, who appeared to let it go through him.
Solomon, who also completed Three of his five He tried to dribble, was directly involved in three of the four goals and deserves a lot of praise for his exceptional performance on the left flank.
Amidst all the praise that will likely come the way of attacking players who score or assist goals, the unsung hero of the game may be midfielder Ao Tanaka.
Why was Ao Tanaka the unsung hero?
The Japan international was not directly involved in any of the four goals, but his outstanding performance in midfield laid the foundations for FARC to dominate and win.
His commanding presence on the ball and tenacious play off the ball facilitated a superb all-round side against Oxford.
It was made One tackle and two interceptions Without being dribbled over once, which shows that the opposition players struggled to overcome him in transitional moments when the away team regained the ball.
|
In Tanaka |
Against Oxford |
|---|---|
|
minutes |
90 |
|
Touches |
122 |
|
Passing accuracy |
92% |
|
was passed |
100/109 |
|
Duels won |
4/6 |
As you can see in the table above, Tanaka was almost perfect in possession for the Whites, completing an incredible 100 passes – 28 more than Central midfield partner Joe Rothwell (72).
Only Ethan Ampadu at centre-back (104) completed more passes than Tanaka and that speaks volumes about how involved the former Fortuna Düsseldorf star has been for Leeds, as he has been pivotal in the way they built up the play and opened up the Oxford defence.
Therefore, the Japanese maestro was the unsung hero of the match for Farke as his exciting display was there with Solomon's contributions, despite not registering a goal or an assist.
