Better than Solomon: 8/10 Leeds monster just showed why he's undroppable
da marjack bet： Leeds United’s Saturday lunchtime couldn’t have gone any better, with the Whites recording a priceless victory in the ongoing automatic promotion tussle in the Championship against Preston North End, whilst one of their rivals for the top two spots succumbed to a third straight defeat in the league.
da blaze casino： That was Chris Wilder’s Sheffield United who shockingly fell to a late defeat at bottom-of-the-table Plymouth Argyle, with Leeds’ emotions very different at the final whistle away from the dour mood in Devon from the away stands.
The picture above encapsulates the mixture of both relief and jubliance inside Elland Road when the full-time whistle was sounded, with Manor Solomon standing out throughout as a top performer after gifting his promotion-chasing side the lead after just four minutes.
Solomon's performance in numbers vs Preston
With Daniel James confirmed to be out of the lunchtime clash when the lineup filtered through, Solomon must have been even more aware that he could be a hero for his team down the flanks, away from the energetic Welshman.
He instantly threw himself into the contest and was rewarded with a stunning early effort, with the Tottenham Hotspur loanee managing to curl this delightful effort past the opposition goalkeeper after the Whites’ patient passing approach paid off.
Preston would instantly fight back with an equaliser, but thankfully, the Championship’s table-toppers had more than enough in their system to get over the line and win, with Solomon a lively customer across the frantic 90 minutes.
Indeed, the 25-year-old winger would also turn provider when assisting Jayden Bogle’s winning goal, with the Spurs loan ace further completing four accurate crosses to try and make Leeds’ slim victory more comprehensive.
Whilst the attacking players in Daniel Farke’s ranks do often steal the plaudits with breathtaking displays of quality, there was also a resilient side to Leeds on show against Paul Heckingbottom’s visitors, with this defender a colossus throughout.
The 8/10 Leeds star who has become undroppable
It could be argued that the centre-back star in question was even better than Solomon across the full duration of the bumpy 90 minutes, with the 6 foot 4 titan having to remain alert throughout, away from his attacking teammate stealing the show early on.
Joe Rodon would come away from this nervy encounter with his head firmly held high, considering the Welsh enforcer would trudge off the Elland Road turf at the close of the contest with all but one of his seven duels won, among other standout numbers.
Rodon’s performance in numbers
Stat
Rodon
Minutes played
90
Goals scored
0
Assists
0
Touches
59
Accurate passes
47/51 (92%)
Key passes
1
Shots
2
Clearances
4
Tackles
1
Total duels won
6/7
Stats by Sofascore
Looking at the table above, it’s clear Rodon was a man in control throughout his near-faultless 90 minutes, with the ex-Swansea City man only misplacing four of his 51 passes on the day.
Whilst he followed a worried trend of Leeds being wasteful in front of goal with two chances spurned of his own, Rodon would still rightly be praised post-match, leading to Yorkshire Evening Post journalist Graham Smyth dishing out a high 8/10 rating to the dominant number six, labelling his forceful showing as simply ‘no-nonsense’.
Already undroppable before this tense fixture – considering Farke has started him in every Championship game this season to date – his importance to the cause has only been heightened now off the back the unfortunate backdrop of his usual centre-back comrade, Pascal Struijk, being ruled out for the rest of the campaign.
Rodon will hope more authoritative performances defensively, such as this one against the Lilywhites, leads to more invaluable victories coming his side’s way, with just one misstep in the automatic promotion race in the Championship proving to be very costly.
Related He's playing like a £50m star: Leeds sold Struijk successor for just £4m
Leeds United must wish they never sold this defensive star now.