Leon Osman slams ‘really poor’ Willy Gnonto after first-half for Leeds United v Manchester United
Leon Osman has slammed Willy Gnonto for giving the ball away in a “really poor” position for Leeds United in their Premier League clash against Manchester United.
Gnonto gave the Whites an early lead at Old Trafford with a brilliant right-footed strike from the edge of the penalty area.
However, the 19-year-old was caught on the ball in a dangerous area and Osman has suggested it was a mistake he’s expected to make due to his age.
“When you’re young you can get caught in really poor positions and that’s exactly what Gnonto did there,” said the Match of the Day pundit on BeIN Sports, on Wednesday (8 February, 08:28pm).
Points on the board
Leeds need points on the board by any means necessary. They’ve stumbled into a relegation battle and unless there’s a change in form, they could well be staring at the Championship come the 2023/24 campaign. Nobody expects anything from the two fixtures against Manchester United, but there will be an expectation for a points return in the fixtures against Southampton and Everton.
Hopefully, by then a new manager will be in place at Elland Road. We’ve seen how a new face and fresh approach can transform a team’s fortunes and the board will be hoping for a similar impact in West Yorkshire. Jesse Marsch had clearly run out of ideas come the end of his tenure and the players were simply not engaged in what he was trying to do.
Andoni Iraola appears to be the man in pole position to take over from the American. He’s straight out of the Marcelo Bielsa textbook and could well ignite some sort of form out of this failing group of players.
In other Leeds United news, click here to see breaking, around-the-clock updates on Leeds’ search for a new manager in our interactive live blog.