Leeds United’s attackers were the talk of the town on Saturday after they ran out 3-0 winners over Plymouth Argyle in the Championship at Elland Road.
Dan James, Joel Piroe, and Brenden Aaronson all got on the scoresheet in the first-half to secure all three points for the Whites, whilst Wilfried Gnonto registered an assist for the first goal.
This meant that all four of the attackers who started the game in the front four ended the first half with one goal involvement under their belts for Daniel Farke.
As well as those attacking stars, there were a number of other strong performers across the pitch for the Whites in the win over Wayne Rooney’s side.
Leeds' top performers against Plymouth
Ao Tanaka as the real star of the show for Leeds in midfield, after he completed 91% of his passes and won five of his six duels.
Central defender Pascal Struijk is another player who caught the eye with his display at the heart of the defence, winning seven of his 11 duels to prevent the away side from registering a single shot on goal.
Another player who produced a superb performance for the Whites was right-back Sam Byram, as Jayden Bogle was suspended after collecting his fifth yellow card of the season against Bristol City.
In the last two games, Byram has won 14 of his 19 duels and completed seven tackles without being dribbled past a single time by an opposition player.
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He also created two ‘big chances’ for his teammates in that time, which shows that the former Norwich man has provided quality at both ends of the pitch to make him undroppable.
Leeds didn't want Sam Byram
His performances for Leeds since the start of last season are particularly impressive when you consider that the club did not initially want to sign him in the summer of 2023.
The Athletic reported that the club had doubts over whether or not it was worth giving him a contract and only allowed him to train with the first-team on a fitness basis in pre-season initially.
It was claimed that Farke, however, was keen to work with him again, having signed him for the Canaries, and pushed to bring him in on a free transfer.
That has turned out to be a fanastic move by the German head coach as he has struck gold with Byram, who has been a dependable performer for the Whites after joining for nothing.
The Englishman, who was hailed as “important” by Farke last season, is currently undroppable on the basis of his last two performances, whether he plays at right-back or left-back is up for debate, though.
Appearances
33
Sofascore rating
7.12
Tackles + interceptions per game
2.8
Ground duel success rate
56%
Aerial duel success rate
56%
As you can see in the table above, Byram featured in 33 of the club’s 46 league games last term and provided a strong defensive presence, winning the majority of his duels on the ground and in the air.
It was a remarkable achievement when you consider that the last time he made more than 22 league appearances in a season was in the 2014/15 campaign with Leeds, before his spells with West Ham and Norwich.
The 8/10 Leeds star who was even better than James for Farke
The Leeds United maestro who was the real star of the show against Plymouth.
ByDan Emery
This shows that Farke struck gold with Byram as he took a gamble on the defender and has been rewarded for his faith, with a player who is now undroppable on current form and has played more frequently than he did in his previous two clubs.