Leeds United bounced back from their dismal defeat in London against Millwall by securing all three points against Queens Park Rangers on Saturday.
The Whites returned to Elland Road and returned to winning ways with a 2-0 win over Marti Cifuentes’ men, thanks to goals from Jayden Bogle and Joel Piroe.
Daniel Farke’s side had lost 1-0 to Millwall in their previous match in the Championship, with a first-half goal from Japhet Tanganga sealing all three points for the hosts.
It was important for the West Yorkshire outfit to bounce back and avoid heading into the last international break of the year with back-to-back defeats, or two games without a win.
Leeds have now won each of their last five games at Elland Road, conceding one goal in that time, and will need to maintain that strong form in order to push for automatic promotion from the Championship this season.
Despite claiming all three points against QPR on Saturday, there were a few players who did not showcase the best of their abilities this weekend.
Mateo Joseph's performance against QPR
Farke handed Mateo Joseph a huge opportunity to stake a claim for his position in the team moving forward by naming him in the starting XI ahead of Piroe.
His previous start for Leeds came in the 1-1 draw at Carrow Road against Norwich City at the start of October, with six outings as a substitute between the draw with the Canaries and the win over QPR.
Piroe had enjoyed a run of starts up front and the clash with the West London side provided the Spain U21 international with the chance to show the manager that he should be playing over the Dutchman.
Unfortunately, Joseph did not do enough in his 72 minutes on the pitch against QPR to suggest that he should remain in the starting line-up on the other side of the international break.
The 21-year-old marksman struggled in and out of possession for the Whites in the clash and should now be in danger of being axed from the team, as he did not make an impact in the final third and was a liability off the ball.
Minutes played
72
xG
0.33
Goals + assists
0
Pass accuracy
73%
Duels won
3/13
As you can see in the table above, Joseph failed to score or provide an assist and gave the ball away far too often with his passes, only completing 73% of them.
His three duels won from 13 contested also show that the QPR defenders found it far too easy to get the better of the centre-forward in physical battles, which shows that the attacker struggled both in and out of possession.
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Joseph should now be in danger of being dropped, because he did not take his chance to shine, but he is now the only Leeds forward who may be in danger, as Wilfried Gnonto was far from being at his best.
Wilfried Gnonto's performance in numbers
The Italian whiz did not enjoy his best afternoon against QPR at Elland Road on Saturday, with an underwhelming performance that left plenty to be desired.
He has now gone eight games without a goal in the Championship for Leeds and has only registered one goal contribution in his last six outings, an assist against Plymouth.
Gnonto played 89 minutes on the right flank and found the target with one of his three efforts on goal, but failed to find the back of the net, whilst he also ended the game without an assist to his name.
The former Zurich star lost possession 12 times in the match without recording a goal contribution to assist his team on their way to all three points, as he was not directly involved in either the first or second goal.
He did create one ‘big chance’ but the context of that opportunity does not favour the former Inter gem. The Italian winger burst through the middle of the pitch on the counter-attack and had a relatively simple pass through to Manor Solomon to his left, but bobbled and overhit the pass.
That meant that the goalkeeper was able to come out and block the shot from a yard away by the time the Spurs loanee got to the ball, so it registered as a ‘big chance’ due to Solomon making first contact on a one-on-one, but the pass from Gnonto meant that there was little he could do but hit it straight at the body of the ‘keeper.
The 21-year-old attacker, who was described as “wasteful” by Farke because of that incident, should now be in danger of losing his position in the team.
Why Wilfried Gnonto could be dropped
Along with his poor performance against QPR, Gnonto’s recent form in the Championship has not been good enough for him to nail down his starting XI spot without question.
As aforementioned, it has now been eight matches since the winger found the back of the net, whilst his only goal contribution in the last six games was a pass to Dan James on the edge of the box, who scored from distance – hardly a contribution of high-quality.
In the 1-0 defeat to Millwall in midweek, Gnonto only won six of his 15 duels and failed to create a single ‘big chance’ for his teammates, whilst completing just 76% of his attempted passes and losing possession 18 times.
No player should be undroppable and the attacker’s recent performances have surely put him in danger of being axed from the starting XI, particularly when you consider the quality that Farke has at his disposal.
Appearances
40
9
Starts
28
6
Goals
13
2
Assists
7
0
Big chances created
13
3
As you can see in the table above, James has been a reliable source of goals and creativity on the wing at Championship level for the Whites since the start of last season.
He was a substitute against QPR on Saturday and this means that there is a quality option for Farke to replace Gnonto with, should he decide to drop the forward.
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