Leeds United made the perfect start to life back in the Premier League on Monday night with an impressive 1-0 victory over Everton at Elland Road.
The Whites were the protagonists for much of the match, with the Toffees sitting back and almost allowing them to dominate, and Daniel Farke's side were eventually able to turn their possession into a winning goal.
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A late penalty, awarded for a handball from James Tarkowski, provided Lukas Nmecha with the opportunity to slot home from the spot to claim all three points for the home side on his competitive debut for the club.
Lukas Nmecha's match-winning cameo
The Germany international was introduced with just 13 minutes left to play, replacing Joel Piroe in the number nine position, and got the perfect chance to make an impact when the penalty was awarded.
He still had to beat Jordan Pickford, though, and, as you can see in the clip above, the striker brilliantly tucked his spot-kick into the bottom corner and beyond the reach of the England number one.
Nmecha also won as many duels (one) as Piroe managed (one) in 78 minutes on the pitch, per Sofascore, which perhaps speaks to the difference in physicality and mobility between the two forwards, as the substitute immediately looked to cause problems for Tarkowski and Michael Keane.
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Despite scoring the goal that won the game for Leeds, though, Nmecha was not the true hero of the night, as Anton Stach deserves that level of praise for his display.
Why Anton Stach was the true hero for Leeds
The former Hoffenheim midfielder made his debut in the middle of the park for the Whites and it is always hard to predict how a player will fare when they come over from another country to play in the Premier League.
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It is fair to say, though, that Stach took to the intensity, the physicality, and the pace of the game like a duck to water. He put in a midfield performance that most players in the division would be delighted with.
LeedsLive reporter Isaac Johnson hailed his display as "brilliant" and awarded him a player rating of 8/10, which could have been even higher and still not been a questionable decision.
Vs Everton Anton Stach
Minutes 90
Pass accuracy 80%
Chances created 4
Long passes completed 4/5
Tackles + interceptions 3
Clearances 5
Dribbled past 0x
Possession lost 20x
Stats via Sofascore
As you can see in the table above, Stach was all over the place, in a positive sense, for Leeds against the Toffees, winning duels, tackles, making clearances, creating chances, playing accurate passes, only losing possession due to how many times he broke up play to clear the ball.
Ending the full 90 minutes without being dribbled past a single time, despite playing in the middle of the park, is testament to his defensive prowess, physicality, and positioning, as Everton's players could not get the better of him in physical battles.
He held down the midfield, alongside Ao Tanaka and Ethan Ampadu in fairness, and played his part in the goal with his shot from distance deflecting onto Tarkowski's arm.
This is why the 6 foot 4 colossus was the real hero of the night for Leeds, instead of Nmecha, because he was a dominant force in all phases of the game, defensively, in transition, and in the crucial moment offensively.
As far as Premier League debuts go, Stach had a match to remember. Farke will now be hoping that he can expect to see that level of consistency in the German midfielder's game for the rest of the season, as his displays could play a big part in their efforts to avoid relegation.