Leeds United’s Youth is Coming Through and Just in Time
After an eight-match winless streak, Leeds United looked destined for relegation and Jesse Marsch was on the hot seat.
Something needed to change because what Marsh was doing was not working. Given one more chance against Liverpool to save his job Marsh turned to the youth.
That move has more than paid off in the last two matches away to Liverpool and home to Bournemouth. In both matches, Leeds took an early lead but conceded within the next 10 minutes and all hope looked lost.
Due to an injury to Luis Sinisterra, one of the brightest summer signings for Leeds, Marsh was forced to start 21-year-old Crysencio Summerville and the move paid off in ways no Leeds fan could imagine.
With the match tied at 1-1 late, the ball fell to Summerville in the Liverpool penalty box and the Dutchman poked the ball past the diving Alisson to win the match for Leeds and earn a vital three points. It was a historic win for Leeds that ended Liverpool’s 30-match unbeaten streak at Anfield in the Premier League. They also gave Virgil van Dijk his first home loss for Liverpool after going 70 matches unbeaten.
The assist was officially given to Patrick Bamford, but it was another young signing that made the goal happen. 18-year-old Wilfried Gnonto came on as a substitute in the 72nd minute and had an immediate impact on his Leeds debut. The Italian international team player showed a bit of magic in the 89th minute. He had a beautiful turn to get past a Liverpool defender and then slotted a ball to Bamford while being covered by two players. The rest is history.
Then the youthful revolution came through clutch against Bournemouth on Saturday. After scoring three minutes in Leeds then conceded the next three and looked done for. But another young player, 20-year-old Sam Greenwood, scored a beautiful goal that curled into the top corner to cut the deficit to one. Greenwood came on for Marc Roca in the 54th minute and scored six minutes later.
Leeds later equalized off a Greenwood corner that captain Liam Cooper headed home. It was then again the Summerville and Gnonto show late. Breaking on the counterattack, Gnonto threaded the ball to Summerville who blasted it into the back of the net to win the match for Leeds in the 84th minute.
Gnonto iced the match by breaking and instead of trying to be a hero stopped the ball to waste precious seconds at the very end. Not a bad way to celebrate your 19th birthday which Gnonto did that day.
Fans of Leeds around the world have been calling for Gnonto to get more playing time and the reason why is clear after the last two matches.
The Leeds youth revolution is in full swing and with one match before the 2022 FIFA World Cup break, Leeds could distance themselves from the relegation zone. Leeds will be heading to Tottenham next Saturday with the chance of winning three straight on the line.
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