Leeds United booked their place in the fifth round of the FA Cup with a win over Championship side Birmingham City on penalties on Sunday.
Misses from Tommy Doyle and Patrick Roberts and perfect penalties from the away side secured Daniel Farke's team's place in the hat for the next round.
It looked like Lukas Nmecha's brilliant finish in the second half was going to be enough for the West Yorkshire outfit to take their place in the next round, but they were hit with a late setback.
lukas-nmecha-leeds-birmingham
Roberts cut onto his left foot from the right wing and sent an effort towards goal that was deflected into the back of the net by James Justin's head, as he directed it past Lucas Perri.
Despite the win, there were several Leeds players who failed to make the most of their chance to impress the head coach, though, and one of those flops was Wilfried Gnonto.
Why Farke will not be pleased with Gnonto
Farke will not be pleased with Gnonto because his performance against the Championship outfit did not show that he is ready for a bigger role in the Premier League in the remaining months of the campaign.
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The Italy U21 international has been an unused substitute in three of the last four top-flight matches and has only started four of his 14 appearances in the competition this season, which shows that he has been rarely used by the German boss.
Farke provided him with a chance to impress in a right wing-back position against the Blues on Sunday, though, and he failed to make the most of his minutes on the pitch, struggling to make an impact at the top end of the pitch.
Vs Birmingham Gnonto
Minutes 68
Shots 1
Key passes 0
Big chances created 0
Successful dribbles 0/1
Possession lost 12x
Duels won 4/9
Tackles won 2/2
To his credit, Gnonto did win 100% of his tackles and won four of his nine duels, despite not being a defensive or physical player, but his work in possession left far too much to be desired.
Farke will not be pleased that the former Inter youngster failed to create a single chance for his teammates in more than an hour on the pitch, but he was not the worst performer for the Whites.
The Leeds flop who should not start again
Facundo Buonanotte was even worse than Gnonto because he was even more ineffective both in and out of possession during his 45 minutes on the field.
facundo-buonanotte-leeds
The Brighton loanee should not start again this season after he completely wasted his big chance to show the manager that he deserves more time on the pitch.
He did not even make the squad against Nottingham Forest, which ended up being a 3-1 win for the Whites, before being an unused substitute against Chelsea last time out in the Premier League.
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The Argentine playmaker was then handed a start as one of two number tens behind Lukas Nmecha in a 3-4-2-1 shape against Birmingham, and flopped horribly in the first half before being substituted at the break.
In his 45 minutes on the pitch, Buonanotte failed to register a single shot, key pass, or a completed dribble as a number ten, often being crowded out or picking the wrong pass in the middle of the park.
Vs Birmingham Buonanotte
Minutes 45
Shots 0
Key passes 0
Big chances created 0
Successful dribbles 0/3
Duels won 2/9
Possession lost 10x
The left-footed attacking midfielder was in the side to be creative and to provide a spark at the top end of the pitch, but he produced an incredibly dull performance.
Reporter Beren Cross even noted that Tommy Doyle was "dominating" the loanee forward and stated that the youngster was "being swallowed up" in midfield, which is reflected in his statistics.
Whilst you could say that his lack of game time since arriving at Elland Road meant that he was not sharp enough to make a big impact, it is up to Buonanotte to make the most of his opportunities when they come to prove to Farke that he deserves more minutes in the Premier League.
daniel-farke-leeds
If anything, his display on Sunday proved to the German head coach that he was right not to give him any minutes against Forest and Chelsea, which does not bode well for the remainder of his loan spell.
That is why Buonanotte, on the evidence currently available, should not start another game this season because he has failed to prove that he is worthy of a place in the side from the start.
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