122-touch Leeds star was Farke’s unsung hero

Leeds United bounced back to winning ways in the Championship on Saturday with a thumping 4-0 victory over Oxford United at Elland Road.

Goals from Dan James, Jayden Bogle, Manor Solomon, and Brenden Aaronson secured all three points for the Whites, after they had failed to beat Preston North End at Deepdale last weekend.

Daniel Farke’s side needed a stoppage-time own goal to seal a point in Lancashire, but they showcased their true quality at the top end of the pitch with a ruthless display in West Yorkshire this time out.

One of the stars of the show for Leeds in the comprehensive victory at Elland Road was Tottenham Hotspur loanee Solomon, who scored his third of the season.

Manor Solomon’s performance against Oxford

The forward set up the opening goal by bursting into the box down the left flank before sliding a perfect ball across for James to fire into the back of the net from close range.

Solomon recorded his second assist of the afternoon for the third goal of the game, playing a brilliant pass into the path of Aaronson – who brilliantly controlled and produced a composed finish past Jamie Cumming.

The Israel international then got his name on the scoresheet with a rasping near-post shot that was too powerful for the Oxford goalkeeper, who appeared to let it go through him.

Solomon, who also completed three of his five attempted dribbles, was directly involved in three of the four goals and deserves plenty of praise for his exceptional display on the left flank.

Amid all the praise that will likely come the way of the attacking players who scored or assisted the goals, an unsung hero from the game could be central midfielder Ao Tanaka.

Why Ao Tanaka was the unsung hero

The Japan international was not directly involved in any of the four goals but his outstanding performance in the middle of the park paved the foundations for Farke’s team to dominate and win.

His metronomic presence in possession and tenacious play off the ball helped to facilitate a terrific all-round team display from the Whites against Oxford.

He made one tackle and two interceptions without being dribbled past a single time, which shows that the opposition players struggled to get the better of him in transition moments when the away side did win the ball back.

As you can see in the table above, Tanaka was almost perfect in possession for the Whites, completing a staggering 100 passes – 28 more than central midfield partner Joe Rothwell (72).

Only Ethan Ampadu at centre-back (104) completed more passes than Tanaka and this speaks to how involved the former Fortuna Dusseldorf star was for Leeds, as he was central to the way they built the play and carved open the Oxford defence.

Therefore, the Japanese maestro was the unsung hero of the game for Farke because his sensational display was up there with Solomon’s contributions, despite not registering a goal or an assist.