Leeds United
Leeds United FC v Newcastle United FC, English Premier League Lucas Perri Of Leeds United catches the ball during the Leeds United FC v Newcastle United FC English Premier League match at Elland Road, Leeds, England, United Kingdom on 30 August 2025 Credit: Lee Keuneke/Every Second Media Editorial use only. All images are copyright Every Second Media Limited. No images may be reproduced without prior permission. All rights reserved. Premier League and Football League images are subject to licensing agreements with Football DataCo Limited. see https://www.football-dataco.com Copyright: xIMAGO/EveryxSecondxMediax ESM-1570-0119 LeexKeunekex/xEveryxSecondxMediax
Leeds United beating West Ham in the FA Cup quarter final over the weekend has sparked some conversations once again. The game itself nearly ended in disaster at the end.
The Hammers managed to come from 2-0 down after 75 minutes to force extra time. They nearly scored again in extra time, but the goal was disallowed. Leeds eventually won the tie after the penalty shootout with Lucas Perri saving two spot kicks. The game could have ended in different circumstances if Perri’s error lead to a goal in extra time, but fortunately it was disallowed.
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The discussion around the Brazilian keeper has now revived after his performance against West Ham. Perri showed his shot stopping abilities, and even pulled some spectacular saves, but the disallowed goal shows that he still has an error in him.
Leeds United star criticized for passive style
Lucas Perri was signed this summer, with the plan for him to immediately be the number one. And in his first few games, it was clear that he was a good shot stopper, but other aspects of his game were lacking. He was incredibly poor with the ball at his feet too. Former goalkeeper Matt Pyzdrowski wrote in The Athletic that Perri’s ”passive” style of goalkeeping is affecting his chances of being the club’s first choice.
Pyzdrowski believes that for a keeper of Perri’s size and frame, he should be doing much better in an around his box during set pieces. In his analysis of the Leeds United keeper, he points out that the Brazilian is focused on protecting his goal and not his penalty area. And this shows in the data as Karl Darlow has 10 high claims and eight punches compared to Perri’s nine high claims and six punches – Darlow has played less minutes than the Brazilian.
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Karl Darlow will remain Daniel Farke’s number one
As things stand, Darlow is expected to be in goal till the end of the season. Farke just does not seem to trust Perri anymore and for very good reason. Karl Darlow has fit in seamlessly as the club’s number one and has earned them very important points in games with his shot stopping. He is outperforming Lucas Perri so far, and he did not even start the season in the first place. Come the summer, Leeds will have a very important decision to make with the Welshman’s contract expiring soon.