Leeds United were pushed right to the edge by Championship outfit Birmingham City in the fourth round of the FA Cup, only scraping through after a tense penalty shootout.
Sean Longstaff stepped up and calmly buried the decisive spot-kick, sealing progression for the Whites after a tough, hard-fought battle.
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With questions being asked about him in recent weeks, Lucas Perri produced a timely response, pulling off a series of important saves in normal time and then again in the shootout to make sure there was no upset at St Andrew’s.
Leeds were poor despite the win on Sunday, and the performance exposed certain players. Facundo Buonanotte has come under severe criticism after being substituted during the break.
Graham Smyth piled on the pressure on Leeds winger Facundo Buonanotte
Buonanotte was so bad in the first half against Birmingham City that Leeds boss Daniel Farke had to take him off during the break.
There are now serious question marks over whether Leeds would consider paying big money to sign him on a permanent deal in the summer transfer window.
Farke defended the winger, but Yorkshire Evening Post journalist and Leeds insider Graham Smyth has not held back when describing the performance.
He insisted that he struggled to do anything on the pitch and believes it is the worst individual performance he has seen from a Leeds player in years.
Smyth said on The Square Ball podcast: “Maybe if he’d have played a bit longer, we’d have seen a bit more, but it was just really horrible for him, wasn’t it.
“It was a really, really desperate full debut, and he got nothing going. He gave the ball away, he really struggled with phsicality I thought, and
“I really struggle to remember an individual performance quite as bad as that one.”
Buonanotte was horrible against Birmingham
The numbers from his performance against Birmingham on Sunday don’t make for good reading, and they inevitably raise fresh questions about Leeds’ recruitment.
The club have been keen on the Argentine since last summer, but fans are starting to wonder what all the excitement was about based on what they’ve seen so far.
Facundo Buonanotte vs Birmingham – Match Performance Breakdown
A detailed statistical look at Facundo Buonanotte’s performance against Birmingham,
highlighting his ball carrying, dribbling output and overall involvement in possession.
Match Stats – Buonanotte vs Birmingham
Touches
Unsuccessful Touches
Dribbles (Successful)
Possession Lost
Total Carrying Distance
Carries
Progressive Carries
He didn’t score or create a goal and was hooked at half-time after a disappointing opening 45 minutes.
Buonanotte had just 30 touches in the first half, gave the ball away 10 times and failed to complete a single dribble.
If that display is anything to go by, Leeds may need to seriously reconsider whether it is worth spending big to make the move permanent at the end of the season.