Leeds United continued their mightily impressive run with an emphatic victory over Preston North End at Deepdale.
Leeds United extended their impressive run in the Championship to eight wins from their last 10 games as a ruthless first-half display helped them on their way to a 4-1 win over Preston North End on Boxing Day.
While Garry Monk will have surely credited all of the team for the three points, there was perhaps one man who deserves a little more praise following the victory at Deepdale; Kemar Roofe.
Leeds United manager Garry Monk
The forward had been under a little pressure, as the season had reached December without Roofe finding the back of the net following his near £3 million switch in the summer (via Yorkshire Evening Post).
But he ended that run with a brilliant header against Aston Villa at the start of this month, and backed it up with a fantastic display against Simon Grayson’s men.
While some of Roofe’s statistics from the game are somewhat modest, there is no question that he stepped up in the most important areas.
He demonstrated a real poacher’s instinct to make sure that Pontus Jansson’s initial header found the back of the net to break the deadlock – with a defender behind him, there is a good chance that Jansson’s effort would have been cleared had Roofe not made sure – before bagging two assists, including playing a smart pass into the path of Hadi Sacko for Leeds’ second.
| Goals | Assists | Total attempts | Total attempts on target | Tackles won | Successful dribbles | Accurate passes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kemar Roofe | 1 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 23 |
His return made him the most productive player in the Championship on Boxing Day. No other player in the division managed two assists, or had a direct hand in three goals.
Leeds United’s Hadi Sacko celebrates with Kemar Roofe
And the fact that he had more attempts on goal than any of his Leeds teammates surely highlights just how confident he currently is.
And having had no problem maintaining that belief during his dry spell in front of goal, there is surely no reason why he cannot continue to be a game-changer for the Whites now that he has started to rediscover his shooting boots.
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