Ian Holloway raves about Luke Ayling’s display after Leeds’ dramatic win v Birmingham

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Leeds United are sitting top of the Championship table heading into the New Year.

Ian Holloway has raved about Luke Ayling’s display during Leeds United’s dramatic 5-4 win against Birmingham City on Sunday afternoon as he described the defender as ‘absolutely outstanding’

The former QPR boss also sent a warning to the rest of the Championship by saying that they should be ‘worried’ about Leeds and the ‘spirit’ they are showing under Marcelo Bielsa.

Leeds will finish 2019 top of the Championship table, with West Brom losing at home to Middlesbrough on the same day, as the Whites will travel to the Hawthorns for a mouthwatering encounter on New Year’s Day.

Speaking to EFL on Quest (29/12/19 at 9:10 pm), Holloway praised the forward-thinking Ayling for how he performed on the day, as he sent a warning to Leeds’ rivals which fans will love.

“Luke Ayling just summed it up for me,” Holloway told EFL on Quest. “I thought he was absolutely outstanding. There was a real important tackle in that last bit.

“Luke scored a goal and made two others. What a game he has had – he just kept driving forward. The ability he has to do that [his goal]. He just kept moving forward.

“He [Bielsa] has made them so brilliant to watch. I would be very worried if I was everyone else now because they are showing all sorts of spirit now.”

Ayling scored Leeds United’s third goal of the game, as the match had drama after drama after drama. From Leeds thinking they were going to have a comfortable day after going 2-0 up, it ended in the most memorable of fashions for the away side.

The Blues thought they had snatched a point when they made it 4-4 in stoppage-time, but Leeds came back at them, with Ayling’s ball across the box resulting in Wes Harding putting the ball into the back of his own net.

Those three points are massive for Bielsa’s side because it now means that they go into 2020, level with Albion, but most importantly, nine points clear of third-placed Fulham in the table.