Gabriel Gudmundsson must be dropped by Daniel Farke after what he’s done for Leeds vs Brighton
Gabriel Gudmundsson could easily find himself on the chopping block at Leeds after what he’s just done against Brighton.
The Sweden international has made an excellent start to life in the Premier League so far this season, but he let his team down in a key moment of the game on Saturday.
Leeds are 1-0 down to Brighton at the half-time break, as Danny Welbeck’s simple finish in the 11th minute is the difference between the two teams at the moment.
It has been a frustrating afternoon for the Whites so far, and they will be rueing the poor involvement from their usually impressive left-back.
Gabriel Gudmundsson found wanting for Brighton goal
Gudmundsson has started every league game for Leeds so far this term, although that record was put into doubt after he picked up a knock during the victory over West Ham last week.
Nevertheless, the 26-year-old recovered in time to line up from the start on the South Coast this weekend, but he was found wanting in a crucial stage of the game, which may ultimately cost his team.
The West Yorkshire outfit made a poor start to the contest at the Amex Stadium, and they were made to pay when a flowing Brighton move set Welbeck up with an easy finish.
However, Gudmundsson could easily have prevented the goal by applying more pressure to Yankuba Minteh when he received the ball on the corner of the penalty area.
Instead, the defender allowed the wideman to drift inside and flip the ball through to Mats Wieffer, who ran into the space vacated by Gudmundsson, and squared the ball for Welbeck to finish.
The former Lille man was caught in no man’s land, and didn’t go and fully press, or sit in alongside his centre half, and moments of indecision like that will get punished in the Premier League.
James Justin to get his chance for Leeds vs Nottingham Forest
James Justin has had to wait for his chance at Leeds since he joined from Leicester City in the summer, but he may now get his moment against Nottingham Forest next weekend.
Gudmundsson’s error on Saturday was a sign of potential tiredness after a hectic start to the season, and now could be the perfect time to throw Justin in from the start.
The former Luton Town man got some rare minutes at Elland Road when he replaced Gudmundsson on the stroke of half-time against West Ham, and he is more than capable of providing an effective option in the left-back role.
Gudmundsson has made an excellent start to his career in LS11, but if Farke wants to drive standards across his group, he cannot let errors like that go unpunished.
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