EFL make Pascal Struijk announcement after Leeds United win v Sunderland
Pascal Struijk was the matchwinner for Leeds United as they secured a 2-1 victory over Sunderland at Elland Road.
Leeds took another step towards promotion with a win against the Black Cats on Monday night (17 February), though the hero was one of a surprising nature.
Struijk was named on the bench for the encounter, but with Leeds trailing by a goal to nil towards the latter stages of the game, Daniel Farke opted to turn to Struijk in a decision that left a few puzzled at the time.
Within just minutes of coming on, Struijk headed Leeds level before securing a brace in the dying seconds to secure a massive three points for Leeds in a feisty encounter, while being the focus of a fresh announcement made by the EFL.
Pascal Struijk named in Championship TOTW
After his goalscoring heroics, Struijk was named in the Championship Team of the Week and deservedly so given the role he played after being introduced.
The EFL announced the XI man TOTW via X on Tuesday (18 February), with Struijk the only Leeds inclusion.
His dominance in the air prevailed at Elland Road and proved to be the difference in what was a very tightly contested affair between two promotion rivals.
Those three points have massively boosted Leeds’ chances of a Premier League return while inflicting hurt on Wearside, with Sunderland looking all but destined for another play-off campaign.
As it stands, the Whites have a seven-point cushion on third-placed Burnley but have yet another crucial fixture coming up with an away encounter with Sheffield United.
Leeds have another must-win game v Sheffield United
While the win against Sunderland was huge, Leeds need to quickly turn their focus to the next encounter which is yet another promotion six-pointer.
With Sunderland now seemingly out of the race for a top-two finish, Leeds simply need to maintain this current run heading into some difficult fixtures to maintain their spot at the summit.
If Farke’s side can avoid defeat, they will retain their place at the top of the Championship, otherwise, they will lose out on their position to the Blades heading into the final 12 games of the campaign with many twists and turns still to come.