Joe Gelhardt was handed just his fourth Premier League start of the season for Leeds on Sunday, and it paid off – as the Whites secured a crucial point against Brighton. Patrick Bamford think he produced the assist of 2021-22.
With Tottenham beating Burnley earlier on in the day, Leeds knew they had to better the Clarets’ result in order to climb out of the relegation zone. But for much of the afternoon, it looked as though they would also lose 1-0.
Danny Welbeck’s chip, after a mistake from Diego Llorente, saw Brighton take the lead. However, into injury time, Gelhardt found Pascal Struijk to score a late header past Robert Sanchez – sending Elland Road into raptures.
Gelhardt’s first touch on the right of the penalty area was not the best, after a little clip from Llorente. But he went past Lewis Dunk with a little chip over the Brighton defender – and then chipped into Struijk, to head home.
The striker, bought from Wigan in the summer of 2020, is renowned for his aggressive, street-football style of play and that was on full show when setting up Struijk. Gelhardt posted on Instagram after the crucial draw.
Bamford praises Leeds star Gelhardt after Brighton assist
It was a sensational bit of skill, but for Leeds fans – it is no surprise. There is real hope that the Whites have got themselves a huge player for the future in Gelhardt. The young Liverpudlian has been compared to Wayne Rooney.
He already has six goal involvements in his 21 games for Leeds, laying on four assists. He also scored twice against Norwich and Chelsea. Bamford praises star Gelhardt, claiming the Leeds assist was the best of 2021-22.
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