Karl Darlow to seal Lucas Perri’s Leeds United fate after what he did vs Manchester City
Lucas Perri may have seen any hopes of a return to Leeds United’s starting lineup disappear after Karl Darlow’s performance against Manchester City.
Although the Whites lost 1-0 on Saturday evening, it could have been much more as Manchester City had multiple quality chances to score.
For Leeds, they will rue their own missed chances, as in return, they also could have forced a result their way.
However, those hopes of picking up points against the Citizens lasted until the final whistle, and Darlow was a key reason behind the Peacocks still being in with a chance right to the end.
How Karl Darlow kept Leeds’ hopes up against Man City
Darlow’s performance against Man City was excellent, and with Perri watching on, his chances of a dramatic return as Farke’s first choice look to be a near impossible road.
While they could not find the equaliser in the end, his display at Elland Road kept the hope of an upset on the cards.
The Welsh shot-stopper made four saves, all within the box, which resulted in a total of 1.41 goals prevented as per the Sofascore graphic below.
Additionally, over the course of their appearances this season, Darlow has maintained a higher save percentage (65 per cent) compared to Perri (57 per cent).
Overall for the Brazilian, who has not featured in the Premier League since 7 January in a 4-3 defeat to Newcastle, the future is beginning to look bleak for him.
- Read more: Find out what the Premier League have said about Daniel Farke’s red card after full-time vs Man City
Just how good has Darlow been since overtaking Perri at Leeds?
Since replacing the Brazilian between the sticks, Darlow has been one of Leeds’ most consistent performers.
Darlow has been rated as Leeds’ third highest-rated player this season, behind Anton Stach and Ethan Ampadu, by Sofascore.
| Player | Sofascore rating |
| Anton Stach | 7.12 |
| Ethan Ampadu | 7.05 |
| Karl Darlow | 6.88 |
At 35 years old, the Leeds goalkeeper appears to be ageing like fine wine, and for Perri, he may have to settle for his role as backup until the end of the season.
The Brazilian did start in the Whites’ last FA Cup game, and he could feature against Norwich next weekend, but if Leeds continue to progress further in the cup, then Darlow may very well take over there as well.
Right now, it certainly looks like Perri’s fate is sealed in LS11, and barring any injury to Darlow, it would be a surprise to see the summer arrival make many more appearances this campaign.
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