Champion League

Farke must unleash £20k-p/w diamond over Piroe after Norwich impact

Leeds United moved up to third in the Championship table on Saturday as Daniel Farke earned a thrilling 3-2 win against his former club.

The Whites came from 2-0 down to secure all three points at Carrow Road against Norwich City and are now six points off the automatic promotion places, although Ipswich have a game to increase that gap.

Farke’s side now face another trip away from Elland Road on Wednesday night as they travel to Stoke City in the hope of moving closer to the top two.

The German head coach could look to make some changes to his side in order to keep things fresh and avoid fatigue with three games in the space of a week.



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With this in mind, Farke must move Joel Piroe aside and unleash Wilfried Gnonto from the start against the Potters after his impact off the bench against Norwich.

How did Gnonto perform against Norwich?

The Italy international came on with 20 minutes left to play and his side losing 2-1 at the time and he contributed to Leeds being able to pick up all three points.

He provided a threat down the right flank and put Norwich defenders under pressure with his direct running to progress his team up the pitch.

The £20k-per-week ace, who was once dubbed a “diamond” by talent scout Jacek Kulig, completed 14 of his 16 attempted passes and retained possession well for the Whites.

Gnonto also had the presence of mind to find Crysencio Summerville in space on the edge of the box after a short corner was played to him and that allowed the Dutch winger to curl a fantastic effort in off the post to make it 2-2.

Whilst it was a wonderful goal from a relatively simple pass from the Italian gem, the young whiz could easily have swung an aimless cross into the box instead of playing a clever ball to the Dutchman.

How did Joel Piroe perform against Norwich?

Meanwhile, Piroe endured a difficult afternoon in East Anglia as the former Swansea star struggled out of possession and failed to make the most of the presentable chance that fell his way.

The Dutch marksman lost a whopping five of his six physical duels as Norwich’s players got the better of him far more often than not, which prevented him from being a useful outlet for Leeds at times.



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He was, however, presented with a fantastic opportunity to get his name on the scoresheet during the first-half of the game and fluffed his lines.

Dan James played a ball through to him down the middle of the pitch and Piroe only had the goalkeeper to beat but struck wide of the post on his left foot, albeit as Jack Stacey was about to provide pressure from behind.

Therefore, Gnonto should come in from the start against Stoke after his impact at Carrow Road and play as part of an interchangeable attacking trident behind Georgino Rutter alongside Summerville and James.

This would provide the 19-year-old with an opportunity to start for the first time since the 3-0 win over Millwall in September and it would allow Piroe to rest ahead of the weekend.

Daraja Kapoor

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