Leeds United beat Yorkshire rivals Sheffield Wednesday 3-0 on Sunday lunchtime as Elland Road’s reputation as a fortress only grows Priority seasonal chugs together.
This big win, which coincidentally saw all three goalscorers being summer recruits, saw the Whites currently back at the top of the table, with fellow Yorkshire side Sheffield United just one point behind Daniel FarkeBurnley and Sunderland are also lurking behind them.
The German had plenty of reason to be positive, as his quick start from the block ensured that the game was relatively comfortable, away from some minor scares here and there.
Leeds’ best players against Sheffield Wednesday
Manor Solomon was responsible for Leeds’ lightning start as the Tottenham Hotspur loanee capitalized on a mistake by Owls man James Beadle to fire into an empty net.
Barely four minutes had ticked on the clock when the 25-year-old scored the first goal, and Solomon now reached four championship goals for the season terrorizing teams down the left channel.
Largie Ramazani also managed to make it 2-0 for the Whites after coming on for Solomon, with the former Almeria man also boasting four championship goals yourself.
The third and final scorer of the day was consistent midfielder Ao Tanaka, who again looked confident and in control in the middle of the park, with his instinctive finish making Leeds’ victory more comprehensive after being forced to fight hard for the three points.
His classy finish was enough to wrong-foot Beadle at the death as the former Fortune Dusseldorf ace also tallied 75 accurate passes and won four duels to round off another impressive performance in front of an adoring home crowd.
Performance in numbers
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But there was one figure who stood out even more than Tanaka and the other scorers who ensured that Wednesday were unlucky in attacks.
Ampadu’s performance in numbers
Keeping the Owls at bay for the full 90 minutes means Leeds are now ready 15 clean sheets for the season in the second division, with Ethan Ampadu largely to thank for that famous dismissal against Danny Rohl’s men.
Returning to the heart of defense alongside Joe Rodon – thanks to Pascal Struijk being sidelined through injury – the Welshman was a rock throughout, with the likes of Josh Windass restricted to just 21 touches of the ball due to the 24-year-old giving him and other normally spirited forwards zero breathing space on Wednesday.
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Ampadu’s performance in numbers |
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|---|---|
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Minutes played |
90 |
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It touches |
118 |
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Precise passes |
92/102 (90%) |
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Passage of the key |
1 |
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Move apart |
8 |
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Interceptions |
2 |
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Solving |
2 |
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Total number of duels won |
6/6 |
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Statistics according to Sofascore |
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Far from struggling away from home throughout the game, Ampadu was also composed and measured with the ball at his feet with 92 accurate passes coming from his 118 touches of the ball, with the former Chelsea man able to ease the pressure just by spraying the ball in with ease .
But there are many outstanding numbers that also include the sharper side of his game, with 100% of his tackles successfully won, on top of the eight clearances also registered to stifle many of the Owls’ dangerous attacking moves.
Journalist James Marshment even described the Leeds captain’s display as “impeccable” come full-time as opposing forwards cursed their luck to play against such a dominant and sure-footed defender.
After narrowly missing out on promotion last year, Ampadu will be desperate to play a key role in his side’s eventual return to the Premier League.
If he can maintain these performance levels all the way to the 46 game marathon goal, his team should feel that sweet success.
