'You need to listen to me' – Paul Merson hails Leeds player after 'great' moment v Fulham

Patrick Bamford must have heard Paul Merson criticising him on Sky Sports Football Centre (Saturday, 3pm) because the under-fire Leeds United striker shut him up with a really smart finish at Elland Road.

Bamford's goal was the first in a comprehensive 3-0 win and it led to Merson hailing the finish and trying to take credit for having him down as a big-game player all along.

On the show on Saturday afternoon, Jeff Stelling asked if Merson was eating his words after the goal in the 10th minute of the game.

"I said he scores big goals and he just scored a big goal here so you need to listen to me when I talk,” Merson said with a smile on his face.

"Costa goes down the right-hand side, pulls it back for Bamford, it’s a great finish.

"He pulls it back to the edge of the box and there’s Bamford, 14 goals this season, he put that way like he’s scored 29 goals, it was a great finish."

The only way to shut the critics up when you're a striker is to score goals and Bamford did just that today.

He was rewarded by being hauled off at half-time by Marcelo Bielsa and that changed the game completely – for the better for Leeds.

Weirdly, Bamford did today what he normally doesn't, with a clinical finish in front of goal, and didn't do what he normally does, which is hold the ball up.

There's talk again that he might be dropped for the game against Luton on Tuesday but we can't see that.

Bielsa doesn't do change at the best of times and we can't see him starting on the back of a 3-0 win.

As for Bamford, he needs to keep scoring. Luton are surely the perfect team for him at the moment.

They won today and that takes them off the foot of the table, but Leeds are just to good for them and they'll be full of confidence after today's win.

In other Leeds United news, 'Take that' – Sky Sports pundit can't disguise contempt for one player in Leeds v Fulham clash