BBC pundit wowed by Raphinha technique in 1-0 Leeds United win v Crystal Palace
Leeds United secured a hard-fought 1-0 victory over Crystal Palace on Tuesday night (30 November) at Elland Road thanks to a late goal from Raphinha.
The Brazilian, 24, stepped up to take a penalty which he calmly buried in the dying seconds of the game, and former Manchester City midfielder Michael Brown was thrilled by his technique while commentating on BBC BBC Radio 5 Live.
Raphinha kept his cool to hand the Whites all three points and send them up to 15th in the table, and the home fans erupted afterwards.
Brown said (as shared on the BBC website): “Wow, incredible. The atmosphere – talk about sucking the ball into the net.
“The audacity from Raphinha to skip and jump, he pulls it to the keeper’s left. It had to be him, didn’t it? He’s been the best player on the pitch. Incredible ending to the game.”
Confidence
Pressure was definitely very high at that point given how bad Leeds needed a third Premier League win of the season, but Raphinha did not feel any of it, taking his penalty with all the confidence in the world.
While Vicente Guaita guessed the right way and went after the ball, he was not close to making a save as there was a lot of power behind the kick.
The Whites needed such a huge breakthrough, and there was no one better to deliver the victory for them than their best player of the campaign so far.
Raphinha has now scored six games in 12 league appearances for Leeds this term, and they would probably be languishing in the relegation zone without him.
Marcelo Bielsa’s men host Brentford this weekend before some tricky fixtures against Chelsea, Manchester City, Arsenal and Liverpool, and they can pull off some surprises against these teams if their Brazilian talisman delivers.
In other Leeds United news, a major update on Whites January bid to sign attacker has been provided, with pen-to-paper imminent.