Leeds United’s clash with Watford on Friday night was threatening to evoke memories of that Cardiff City game when football returned in 2020.
On that day, Leeds had the opportunity to open a 10-point gap to third place Fulham. But Marcelo Bielsa’s side were punished for a lacklustre display.
Of course, the wait for Friday’s game at Vicarage Road was a lot shorter than the three months between Luke Ayling’s volley against Huddersfield and the defeat in South Wales.
But given the drama of the international break for a lot of our players, it cannot have been easy for Daniel Farke‘s men to pick up where they left off, particularly with Junior Firpo, Ilia Gruev and Willy Gnonto all having to drop out of the starting lineup.
Four years ago, both Fulham and West Brom had failed to win before Leeds faced the Bluebirds. This time around, Leicester were beaten at Bristol City, and Southampton’s automatic-promotion hopes were dealt a further blow thanks to a late equaliser from Middlesbrough.
Unfortunately, Watford also looked to be more than happy to take Cardiff’s place; taking the lead twice at Vicarage Road, with former Leeds target Emmanuel Dennis putting the Hornets back in front just before half-time.
Leeds rusty on return from international break
Most Leeds fans would have felt that the Whites would have been incredibly lucky to go in level had Crysencio Summerville‘s moment of magic proved to be the final goal of the half.
Leeds were extremely poor; struggling to deal with Watford’s intense pressing. Patrick Bamford barely seemed to get a kick in the first-half.
Thankfully for us, the game started to change shortly after the hour-mark when Farke replaced Liam Cooper with Junior Firpo.
Cooper’s lack of game-time was evident on a difficult night for the captain. For many, it probably was not a surprise that we looked a lot more assured once Ethan Ampadu went back into centre-back alongside Joe Rodon.
But the introduction of Firpo should not go unnoticed.
Junior Firpo showed his importance to this squad
Things seemed just too predictable in the first 45 minutes. And the fact that Sam Byram was playing as a right-footed left-back did not help as Leeds were almost always looking to cut inside on that flank. It is no surprise that Summerville needed to produce the most outrageous finish to bring the visitors level.
Immediately after the change, things appeared to click between Firpo and Summerville on the left flank. Suddenly, Leeds had someone who could make runs down the line as well as inside of the Dutchman.
And Firpo was a constant threat. The 27-year-old completed more passes than Cooper, Daniel James, Georginio Rutter and Patrick Bamford. And he was only five away from Glen Kamara, according to Whoscored.
It was also Firpo who dummied the ball before Mateo Joseph bundled home the late equaliser.
There is a question mark over the defender’s future at Elland Road. Firpo’s contract is set to expire at the end of next season, and there are yet to be any talks over an extension.
In truth, keeping Firpo beyond the summer would be a gamble, particularly if we are promoted.
But for now, there is absolutely no question after Friday’s draw that, for all of his flaws, Firpo has become essential to Farke’s side. And with that, we are desperately that there is a swift return to the starting lineup on Monday.