Key takeaways from a controlled and hugely important victory for Leeds United.
Leeds United took another big step towards Premier League survival following their 3-0 win at home to Wolves on Saturday. Goals from James Justin, Noah Okafor and Dominic Calvert-Lewin capped off a solid, if not electric, Whites performance to pull nine points clear of 18th place.
Daniel Farke’s side started on the front foot and got their reward with two quickfire goals from Justin and Okafor, although it could easily have been more. Wolves got a foothold in the game after half-time and forced Karl Darlow into a wonderful save before Adam Armstrong had a goal ruled out for offside.
Calvert-Lewin won himself a penalty in second-half added-time and buried it with confidence to secure another big three points. Below are the YEP’s key talking points from the afternoon.
Huge Leeds United injury boost
Farke hinted at a potential injury surprise in his Thursday press conference and that duly arrived 75 minutes before kick-off, with Joe Rodon back in the squad. Less than two weeks ago, the centre-back suffered an ankle ligament injury at West Ham in the FA Cup and was initially expected to return in May.
Instead he returned early for the second time this season, having missed just 10 days with a similar injury around the turn of the year. With Leeds 3-0 up and cruising late in added-time on Saturday, Farke even saw fit to give Rodon some important minutes off the bench ahead of Wednesday’s trip to Bournemouth.
Whether Rodon features at the Vitality Stadium remains to be seen and none of Justin, Jaka Bijol or Pascal Struijk have done anything to be dropped. But his availability way ahead of schedule is a huge boost for Leeds going into the FA Cup semi-final next weekend and Premier League run-in.
Noah Okafor’s perfectly-timed hot-streak
Leeds started on Saturday like they did Monday’s win at Old Trafford, pressing Wolves high and creating a hatful of chances before eventually forcing the opener. A lot of that early threat came from Okafor, who looked like creating something every time he squared up an opposition defender out wide.
Exactly one minute and 26 seconds after Justin’s acrobatic effort, Okafor latched onto a brilliant Brenden Aaronson ball to make it 2-0, scoring his seventh Premier League goal in the process. That’s a decent tally and it’s mainly down to a red-hot run of five in his last five either side of a hamstring injury.
Leeds are getting the best out of Okafor right now and they are getting it at the perfect time, his hot-streak coming at a point in the season when wins are needed. Farke then had the luxury to remove his talismanic winger with over 20 minutes remaining and must keep him fresh for Chelsea at Wembley next week.
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A defining week and season first
A first league victory at Old Trafford since 1981 followed by a convincing home win to pull nine points clear of relegation trouble with five games to play. If Carlsberg did weeks. In all seriousness, this has felt like a season-defining few days for Leeds and one they’ve grabbed by the scruff of the neck.
Had things gone another way this week, Leeds could have been heading down to Wembley with a mix of excitement for the FA Cup and trepidation as to how it might affect their survival chances. Back-to-back Premier League wins for the first time all season - and the first time since beating Bournemouth and Liverpool in autumn 2022 - have helped to allay those fears.
“What a time to do it,” opening goalscorer James Justin told Sky Sports of that feat following Saturday’s win - and he’s absolutely right? Leeds have come through their springtime blip and are within touching distance of being a Premier League team in 2026/27. Bournemouth next, then on to Wembley.
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