Rafa Benitez says his star striker is determined to score more than the Leeds United striker.
Newcastle United’s Dwight Gayle scores their second goal
Newcastle United manager Rafa Benitez has been speaking about the battle for the Championship golden boot between his star striker Dwight Gayle and Leeds United talisman Chris Wood.
The New Zealand striker scored twice on Friday as Leeds defeated Birmingham City 3-1 and maintained their hunt for promotion to the Premier League.
The goals took the Leeds striker to 25 goals in all competitions this season for Leeds, and top of the Championship scoring charts on 22 goals from the season.
Newcastle striker Gayle is on 21 for the campaign after an injury struck second half of the season saw Wood usurp him in the standings.
Benitez is however hopeful Gayle can get the better of the Leeds man. The Spaniard is quoted by the Chronicle as stating:
“He has to be because it’s not easy to be top scorer in any division.
“When you have an opportunity, for everyone, especially for a striker, it’s a very good target.
“I think he’s quite happy with the challenge and hopefully he can score more goals than him [Wood].”
Leeds United’s Chris Wood celebrates after scoring their second goal
Both men certainly have plenty of reason to go for goals. Newcastle are pushing for the Championship title, as they stretch away from Brighton and Hove Albion.
Meanwhile, Leeds are in fourth place in the league table and are pushing Brighton in the automatic spots with the goals of Wood proving to be a big factor in their form.
It will be interesting to see who can finish top of the goal standings in the Championship this season, the Newcastle speedster or the Leeds United bull.
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