Leeds United left-back Junior Firpo impresses vs Rotherham United
Well, on Saturday afternoon in the Championship, Leeds United defeated Rotherham United 3-0 at Elland Road.
Leeds, who had already won their previous five league games, won this one easily.
Junior Firpo made his Whites debut. The former Barcelona player, who cost £13 million (BBC Sport), was used at left-back by Leeds head coach Daniel Farke.
Firpo played well. The 27-year-old set up the opening goal for Patrick Bamford with a smart cross that Rotherham failed to deal with. He also created a very good chance for Crysencio Summerville in the second half.
The former Real Betis player has made six starts and five substitute appearances in the Championship for Leeds this season.
Praise for Junior Firpo
While covering the game for BBC Radio Leeds, former Leeds player Aidy White expressed his admiration for Firpo’s ability and his previous showings as a left-back.
“He has come in for some stick from some people, but he has shown what he is about and how vital and what an asset he can be and has been for the five-six run of games that he has had,” White said regarding Firpo on BBC Radio Leeds.
Fair play, then, and thanks where credit is due. He has disproved a great deal of people, and hopefully he will only get better.
Farke, the head coach of Leeds, has hinted that he would rather that Summerville had not taken the penalty from Panenka.
According to Leeds Live, Farke is a little more traditional: “I would rather have the ball in the corner!”
Leeds have 63 points from 31 games, good for third place in the Championship standings. The West Yorkshire team is one point behind Southampton, who have played thirty games and are in second place.
In other related news:
During his news conference after the game, Farke stated that Summerville has been putting a lot of effort into improving his finishing in training and that he should be given a lot of credit for his performance.
Farke heaps praise on Summerville
“I was always 100% sure about his potential and he could deliver,” the speaker stated. He deserves all the praise because he has put in a lot of effort on his finishing and is a relentless trainer.
With 21 goal contributions in the Championship, Summerville has easily been Leeds’ player of the year thus far—better than anyone could have predicted at this point.
Summerville’s pace on the counterattack was simply too much for Rotherham to handle, especially in the second half, as seen by the way he seized on Georgia Rutter’s through ball for his first goal.
Many commentators have praised Summerville as unplayable this season, and two more goals will only boost his confidence before a demanding stretch of games.
It must be stated that Summerville will play football in the Premier League the next season, regardless of Leeds’ performance this year. As we get closer to the finish line, hopefully it can happen with the Whites.
