17 clearances, 6 duels won: Pontus Jansson shines as Leeds keep clean sheet and beat Cardiff

Follow us on Google Discover

The Whites secured their second win in as many games to move further away from the Championship’s bottom three.

Leeds’ Pontus Jansson in action against Blackburn

Leeds United kept just their second clean sheet of the Championship season as they beat Cardiff City 2-0 in South Wales, and it was arguably thanks to a stunning display from centre-back Pontus Jansson.

Garry Monk’s men went into the game hoping to capitalise on the momentum they would have gained from their midweek victory over Blackburn Rovers.

Leeds United manager Garry Monk

But it was the home side that started the quicker as United continually handed them chances to put the ball into their box by needlessly giving away several free-kicks.

Nevertheless, the Whites went into the break level with Jansson and Kyle Bartley standing firm, while the post also came to their rescue on a couple of occasions.

Kyle Bartley was excellent alongside Jansson

And with the pair maintaining their performance levels in the second-half, Leeds were able to focus on making more of an impression further up the field, and were rewarded as a Chris Wood penalty and Pablo Hernandez stunner saw them bag the three points.

While Bartley was exceptional, it was Jansson that will, rightfully, take many of the plaudits following the game. As well as winning the penalty that allowed Wood to break the deadlock, the summer signing was a colossus at the back.

As the statistics show, the 25-year-old failed to win a single tackle, but he more than made up for that by winning six duels, two interceptions and making an impressive 17 clearances.

And it was not just when doing his defensive duty that the Sweden international – who is on loan at Elland Road from Torino – excelled. He also made 33 accurate passes throughout the game, which was especially important as Liam Bridcutt was missing due to injury.

And with the victory handing Leeds some further momentum, Monk will be hoping that Jansson’s partnership with Bartley continues to develop as it will surely be key to the side’s hopes of putting their slow start behind him.