Leeds fan favourite’s incredibly impressive stats from massive derby day victory

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Leeds United secured a massive three points in the Championship promotion race by beating Sheffield Wednesday 1-0 at Elland Road.

Stuart Dallas, Luke Ayling and Souleymane Doukara of Leeds United celebrate at the end of the game

Leeds gave their promotion hopes a massive boost on Saturday as they beat Sheffield Wednesday 1-0 at Elland Road. And while several members of Garry Monk’s side deserve plenty of praise following the victory, the statistics suggest that Luke Ayling put in a particularly impressive display.

The right-back – who has established himself as a fan favourite having been hugely influential since joining in the summer – faced one of his toughest tests of the season with the Owls handing starts to Fernando Forestieri and Jordan Rhodes up front – arguably, the division’s most impressive strike partnership – while Adam Reach started on the left-wing.

And while Wednesday looked bright going forward at times, especially in the second-half, Ayling’s stats exemplify how strong Leeds’ defensive display was on a day where both teams registered just one shot on target.

Though he only won a third of the tackles he contested, he attempted at least, double the number of tackles that any of his teammates went in for, while only Liam Bridcutt won more.

The numbers of clearances that he, Kyle Bartley and Pontus Jansson made throughout the game sum up how much of the second-half played out. The trio made 37 clearances between them, with the former Bristol City man contributing 10.

Luke Ayling of Leeds United clears the ball

He also impressed with the number of aerial duels and interceptions he won, but it is in terms of dribbles and overall duels that Ayling really excelled.

No player made more successful dribbles than the four Ayling managed, and they were vitally important as those runs often saw some of the pressure taken off Leeds side as Wednesday continued to ask questions.

Adam Reach of Sheffield Wednesday in action with Luke Ayling of Leeds United

His staggering total of 16 duels won saw him leave his teammates well behind. Bartley was Leeds’ next best player in that area, winning nine, while Souleymane Doukara and Chris Wood both claimed five victories.

And with four of the top seven still to play this term, Monk will be desperately hoping that Ayling can keep replicating those performances as they would surely go a long way to ensuring that Leeds book themselves a ticket to the play-offs.