Leeds United manager Daniel Farke
Leeds United booked their place in the fifth round of the FA Cup after defeating Birmingham City on penalties in a dramatic affair at St. Andrews.
A fine strike from the in-form Lukas Nmecha put Leeds a goal up against the run of play before a late equaliser from Patrick Roberts ensured the cup tie went to extra time.
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It wasn’t pretty, but Daniel Farke’s men ultimately saw off a tough test from the Championship outfit to extend their unbeaten run to three matches in all competitions.
In an afternoon where many Leeds players did not impress, like Ao Tanaka, for example, there was one member of the starting XI against Birmingham who may have just saved his career at Elland Road with his impressive performance.
Lucas Perri shines against Birmingham in the FA Cup
With the recent transfer rumours suggesting Leeds will be in the market for a new goalkeeper in the summer, with James Trafford being one of the names linked with a move to West Yorkshire, Perri needed to impress upon his reintroduction to the side.
Perri, 28, has not featured in the Premier League for the Whites since 7 January, with the Brazilian conceding a cheap last-minute winner to Newcastle courtesy of Harvey Barnes.
With Karl Darlow taking his place as first-choice keeper, many had already written Perri off, but he arguably had his best game in a Leeds shirt so far against Birmingham, with the shot stopper producing a magnificent save in the 11th minute, turning Jay Stansfield’s effort onto the woodwork.
If Leeds’ £15.6million summer signing can continue to put in performances of this calibre, then he may find himself receiving more regular first-team minutes sooner rather than later.
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Data suggests Lucas Perri was impressive against Birmingham
Along with his acrobatic save to keep the score level in the early stages of the game against Birmingham, Perri also came up with a huge save in the penalty shootout to shift the momentum in Leeds’ favour.
The data confirms that Perri had an impressive performance over the weekend, with the Brazilian barely putting a foot wrong during the game.
Stat Value
Penalty shootout saves 1
Total saves 4
Saves from inside the box 2
Punches 1
Run outs (successful) 1(1)
High claims 1
(Sofascore)
Despite Darlow being the current number one at Leeds at this moment in time, we have seen the Welshman make costly errors during the Arsenal game, for example.
Perri’s recent performance against Birmingham may give Farke the confidence to put his faith back in the summer signing, should he be required in the event that Darlow makes anymore errors, potentially reinvigorating Perri’s career in West Yorkshire.
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