The Aston Villa loanee was terrific for Nottingham Forest as they beat Leeds at Elland Road on Saturday.
Leeds United had their own Premier League loanee pulling the strings on Saturday afternoon in Liam Bridcutt.
But, unfortunately for the home side, the Sunderland-owned midfielder wasn’t backed up by his team-mates.
That was part of the reason Nottingham Forest left Elland Road with all three points, of course, while another Premier League man made the difference for the visitors.
Indeed, Aston Villa loanee Gary Gardner set up Forest’s winner and was generally superb against Leeds in Yorkshire…
| Leeds v Forest | Team | Chances Created | Final-Third Passes | Assists | Accurate Passes | Interceptions | Tackles | Minutes Played |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gary Gardner | Forest | 3 | 9 | 1 | 37 | 1 | 3 | 90 |
| Jamie Ward | Forest | 3 | 6 | 0 | 13 | 0 | 1 | 75 |
| Liam Bridcutt | Leeds | 2 | 29 | 0 | 78 | 4 | 2 | 90 |
| Lewis Cook | Leeds | 2 | 21 | 0 | 50 | 0 | 5 | 90 |
| Eric Lichaj | Forest | 2 | 11 | 0 | 35 | 3 | 1 | 90 |
As Opta stats show, Gardner created three chances for Forest – the joint-highest tally of anyone on Saturday.
The Aston Villa midfielder also made nine final-third passes and 37 overall – a high tally compared to his team-mates but surpassed by several Leeds players.
Gardner helped out defensively, too, winning one interception and an impressive three tackles for Nottingham Forest.
His most telling contribution, however, was to set the winner up with one of his key passes.
Wherever the 23-year-old ends up next season, then, (Nottingham Forest or a return to Aston Villa) he looks very well suited to the Championship.
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