Leeds United ace hailed by Sky Sports pundit for ‘devastating’ impact vs Bristol City, he is ‘Premier League quality’

Add as preferred source on Google

Leeds United absolutely trounced Bristol City at Elland Road on Monday night, and it’s hard to pick a standout performer, but one man showed his class without even getting on the scoresheet.

Going into the game after seeing Burnley thrash QPR in the Championship this weekend, it was simple for Leeds United: Win tonight, or hand the Clarets the advantage in the title race.

Daniel Farke’s men duly delivered, with a resounding 4-0 win against a limp and lifeless Bristol City team who never looked like causing any trouble for the Whites.

We struggled to pick a Man of the Match on the night, with three stars taking top billing in our Leeds United vs Bristol City player ratings, but the folks in the Sky Sports studio were full of praise for one man in particular.

• READ MORE: Bristol City’s ‘unforgivable’ weakness exposed by Leeds United, they must fix this for the play-offs

Joel Piroe’s moment of magic killed the game for Leeds United

After his four-goal haul against Stoke City last week, many would have expected Joel Piroe to be among the goals again in this 4-0 rout at Elland Road, but the big striker didn’t actually manage to bag one tonight.

Still, his impact on the game has not been overlooked, with Andy Hinchliffe waxing lyrical about Piroe for his absolutely stunning assist for Willy Gnonto’s goal just before the hour-mark.

Covering the game on Sky Sports, Hinchcliffe said: “That is Premier League quality from Joel Piroe. Yes, the finish is great, but the touch, the turn, the pass, absolutely magnificent from Piroe.

“When you get him on the ball… that’s what he can do… It’s devastating.”

The vision and technique from Piroe to create the space for himself, then to not only see the pass but to execute it, too, is mightily impressive, especially for a big centre-forward.

That was Piroe’s seventh assist of the season, which adds to his 19 goals as he hunts for the Championship Golden Boot.

• READ MORE: Leeds United fans are all in agreement about Elland Road upgrades following the release of stadium plans

Leeds United would be crazy to sell Joel Piroe this summer

Incredibly, there are suggestions that Leeds may look to sell Joel Piroe this summer as they don’t believe he is capable of leading the line in the Premier League.

While no one would expect him to get close to the kind of numbers he has produced in the Championship this season, we saw enough of his quality on the ball and his link-up play tonight to prove that Piroe can still make a big difference for Leeds in the top flight.

By the sounds of it, Leeds are planning to be ruthless this summer, as evidenced by reports that Daniel Farke could lose his job.

Sacking Farke would be a mistake, and so would selling Piroe. By all means, the Whites could and should find another striker who will be able to deliver them goals next season, but in the big Dutchman, they have a player who will work his socks off, knows where the net is, and can produce moments of magic like he did against Bristol City.