What Leeds United players did on Saturday should be of concern for the Championship

-Credit: (Image: Reach Publishing Services Limited)
-Credit: (Image: Reach Publishing Services Limited)


It was a blistering start to the Championship campaign for Leeds United on the opening day of the season with three goals in their first 90 minutes. A late Brenden Aaronson strike salvaged a point against Portsmouth and goals were hard to come bye from thereon out. It's perhaps to be expected given the overhaul at Elland Road this summer.

The departures of Georginio Rutter and Crysencio Summerville saw 54 goal contributions disappear from Daniel Farke's starting XI. Rutter notched 16 assists and eight goals in 51 appearances in all competitions while Summerville was responsible for 21 goals and ten assists.

It's too early in the season to suggest who'll step up to fill those voids, but the 3-0 win over Coventry City was the first real sign we've had this season of Leeds being at their fluid best. The Whites have kept five clean sheets in their last six games, which has given them a platform to attack from.

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The opening goal of the game against Coventry was a brilliant finish from Will Gnonto who threw his name in the hat as most likely contender to step up and provide goals and assists in Summerville and Rutter's absence. Joel Piroe is another potential contender, having scored in back-to-back games for the Whites, with both of those goals coming as a second-half substitute.

Mateo Joseph has been Farke's go-to man to lead the line so far this season, and although he's not scored since the win over Hull City, the Spanish youth international has three assists in seven appearances. The most recent assist came in the 2-0 win over Cardiff, where summer signing Largie Ramazani notched his first goal for the club.

The Whites have the third highest xG in the Championship with 12.3 and have backed that up with 12 goals in the second tier so far this season. Only Boro and Millwall have a higher XG across the first seven games of the campaign, but it's Leeds who are positioned the highest out of the three clubs.

Sunderland and Blackburn lead the way for goals scored in the Championship this season, with 14 goals from their opening seven games, Burnley are in second with 13 goals, with Leeds, Millwall, West Brom and Watford all having scored 12 goals. The Whites are starting to find their groove in the final third and you'd back them to only get better as the season goes on.