Highlights
- Leeds United bounced back from their midweek defeat with a scintillating victory over Huddersfield, consolidating third place in the league.
- Crysencio Summerville was the standout player, scoring two goals and two assists, and has been a key contributor to Leeds’ campaign this season.
- However, Georginio Rutter, who struggled initially after joining Leeds, is also proving his worth with impressive performances.
Leeds United put the midweek misery of falling to defeat against Stoke City behind them and rebounded with a scintillating victory over Huddersfield Town in the Championship on Saturday afternoon.
Elland Road was party to an offensive landslide from the hosts, who consolidated their third-place position in the league with a convincing 4-1 rout.
Candidly, the Terriers were woeful and could have conceded more, with Dan James and Crysencio Summerville scoring two goals each to clinch a fourth straight home win, with the latter really starting to grow into his skin in West Yorkshire.
Crysencio Summerville’s performance vs Huddersfield
Daniel Farke’s side have been largely impressive after falling from the Premier League last term, though inconsistency has prevented Leeds from keeping up with pace-setters Leicester City and Ipswich Town at the top of the table.
Against Huddersfield, however, Elland Road revelled in a resounding victory as Leeds held onto third place, and Summerville was indeed at the heart of it all, posting two goals and assists apiece.
His staggering haul against hapless Huddersfield has now shot his seasonal return up to six goals and four assists from just ten starts in the Championship this season, with his superb technical ability starting to leave a marked effect on Leeds’ campaign.
As per FBref, the 5 foot 8 phenom now ranks among the top 3% of attacking midfielders and wingers across competitions similar to the Championship for goals, the top 27% for assists, the top 3% for progressive carries and the top 11% for successful take-ons per 90.
While Summerville is the obvious contender for Player of the Match given his cutting edge on the afternoon, his teammate Georginio Rutter was equally emphatic in his craft, and is now starting to prove his worth to the eager Whites support.
Why Georginio Rutter was “unplayable” vs Huddersfield
Rutter signed for Leeds in a club-record £35.5m move from Bundesliga side Hoffenheim last January, though he flattered to deceive before the summer as his side fell from the Premier League, branded a “non-entity” by journalist Beren Cross for his lifeless outings.
But now he is starting to find a new lease of life, with Cross claiming that his vision and ball-playing faculty has been “one of the discoveries of the season“, assisting once again against Darren Moore’s side.
As per Sofascore, the 51-touch gem completed 79% of his passes from the focal position, succeeding with five dribbles, making three key passes, and winning seven duels, highlighting the robustness of his craft.
He has now bagged two goals and five assists in the Championship, and while he is clearly not an innate goalscorer, Farke deserves credit for nurturing and guiding his creative ability.
Furthermore, the 21-year-old ranks among the top 1% of forwards across similar competitions for assists, the top 2% for shot-creating actions, the top 4% for progressive passes, the top 9% for progressive carries and the top 2% for successful take-ons per 90, very much the creative star in the side.
The Athletic’s Phil Hay even went as far as to hail the Frenchman for his “unplayable” performance, and with more displays of similar merit, there is every possibility that Farke’s side will secure an instantaneous return to the big time.
While there will be tougher tests to come – Huddersfield were remarkably poor – but there are some really pleasing signs heading into the winter period, with Leeds firmly in promotion contention if not quite hitting their stride.
