Middlesbrough man admits they couldn’t stop two Leeds stars who are ‘so fast’

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Middlesbrough midfielder Dan Barlaser admits his side struggled to cope with the pace of Daniel James and Crysencio Summerville during Saturday’s 3-2 defeat to Championship challengers Leeds United. 

The sight of Wilfried Gnonto and Jayden Anthony on the Elland Road bench tells you all you need to know about the form of those starting ahead of them in Daniel Farke’s XI. Gnonto, after all, is an Italy international who was the subject of a £25 million-plus bid over the summer. Antony, meanwhile, was a key part of the Bournemouth side promoted in 2021/22 (Sky Sports). 

Both would stroll into the first team at probably 90 per cent of Championship clubs. But not Leeds United. Not ahead of Daniel James and Crysencio Summerville, two of the most in-form forwards in the division scoring within the opening seven minutes against Middlesbrough on Saturday afternoon. 

Leeds beat Middlesbrough in Elland Road thriller

“With the pace they’ve got out wide, it can make it hard to double up because they are so fast at moving it there,” Barlaser tells the BBC Radio Tees. 

With six to his name, this is already the most prolific season of James’ career. You can say the same of Summerville, the top-scorer in Farke’s squad after hitting the back of the net eight times so far in 2023/24.

But Middlesbrough, to their credit, made quite the game of it even after Anfernee Dijksteel’s red card on the hour. 

Farke’s side chase promotion

“I thought we dealt with it pretty well in the second half though, and particularly with ten men,” Barlaser adds. “We then could probably win with the chances we have. We’re disappointed not to.

“We’re disappointed we’re not coming away with anything. We had a ten-minute spell in the first half that has cost us the two goals.

“It was a crazy period. But that’s what they can do to you because they’ve got really good attacking players. We get a second goal right before half time to bring us right back in it and start the second half really well, but unfortunately went down to ten men.”

Leeds are still third, the gap between them and second-place Ipswich still standing at seven points. There is, however, a ten-point difference now between the Yorkshire giants and Blackburn Rovers in seventh.