Leeds United produced probably the club’s best performance of the season to smash Norwich City 4-0, and all Leeds fans are saying the same thing about Joel Piroe on Thursday night.
A truly sensational display from Daniel Farke’s side came as a bit of a surprise given the lack of form going into the play-offs, and then the cagey 0-0 draw between Leeds and Norwich down at Carrow Road.
But forgetting that and slightly ripping up the script, Leeds completely bamboozled Norwich with quick transition, decision making and precision in the final third as Ilia Gruev scored his first Leeds goal.
Farke brought Piroe back into the starting line-up with Sam Byram injured, moving Archie Gray to the right side of the defence and it worked wonders as Gruev opened the scoring for Leeds, early on.
Piroe made it 2-0, planting a header past Angus Gunn from a super Willy Gnonto cross. Georginio Rutter slammed home a third before Crysencio Summerville made it four as £16m signing Piroe starred up top.
Leeds fans in the stadium, and on social media, were certainly impressed:
Leeds fans say Piroe enjoyed his best game since joining club
Piroe was truly sensational up top, in the midst of plenty of criticism for the Dutch striker. Many fans have often voiced their frustration with Piroe, his perceived lack of work rate and his inability to hold it up.
But that was completely different on Thursday, with the former Swansea man doing everything right. In the absence of Patrick Bamford, he held it up wonderfully well and got his name on the score sheet.
Leeds fans took to X to rave about the striker after his stunning display against Norwich, netting his 14th goal for the club since swapping Wales for Yorkshire. Many think it was his best in a Leeds shirt.
Darren Bent left with egg on his face after pre-match prediction
Speaking on TalKSPORT on Thursday afternoon, pundit Darren Bent explained that he thought Norwich would beat Leeds at Elland Road given the Whites were far from their best after missing out on second.
He might have had a point but his prediction of a 2-1 away win could not have been further from the reality. Leeds were dominant from the first second, and Norwich only had one sniff of scoring a goal.
Aside from Ethan Ampadu’s mistake, which saw Illan Meslier produce an excellent one-on-one stop to deny Josh Sargent, Leeds produced a perfect performance and Piroe finally looked like a £16m man.