Georginio Rutter of Leeds United has brazenly asserted that his club is the ‘best’ after closing the gap on Leicester City with a stunning comeback victory at Elland Road.
The Whites secured a critical three points after coming from behind in the final ten minutes to beat the Foxes 3-1. This victory has moved them to within six points of Leicester at the top of the table.
This has raised questions about whether Leeds can challenge Enzo Maresca’s side for the Championship crown this season. Both teams will compete in the FA Cup this week before returning to Championship action next weekend.
Following the match, Rutter, who was chosen man of the match, was asked about the potential of challenging their opponents.
“We are the best team, I think,” he told Sky Sports. “You know, today I can’t articulate it; I don’t have words.
“I’m exhausted, but you know we’re in Leeds. You know, it’s not over; you have to focus on the next game, but for now, you have to have fun.”
Archie Gray, who initially thought he had scored Leeds’ second goal but was later awarded an own goal, downplayed the rivalry.
“We’re just focusing on the next game, they’ve got their own games and we’re just focusing on ours and hopefully keep the run of wins going,” he said. “However, if we keep up our excellent performances, we can maintain the pressure on them.
“But we’re not looking at the table, we’re looking at the next fixtures and focusing on them.”
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Sky Sports pundit lashes out at official on ‘ridiculous’ Patson Daka call.
Jermaine Beckford criticized Leicester’s decision to rule out a goal for Patson Daka in their loss to Leeds United, calling it “really bad”.
The Sky Sports pundit responded after the final whistle on 23 February, as the Whites overcame a one-goal deficit to win 3-1 in a frantic closing 10 minutes.
However, Beckford criticized the decision to rule out the Foxes attacker’s second-half effort with the score at 1-0 for an erroneous offside, calling the linesman’s flag “ridiculous” as the ball was turned in after rebounding off the post from a corner in the 69th minute.
Beckford remarked (10.24pm): “In my opinion, the linesman made a stupid decision. Patson Daka’s onside is clearly seen near the back post. He makes a terrific movement there.
“Georginio Rutter takes a big touch, gambles on it, Patson Daka gets the touch, scores, and sprints off to celebrate. There is nothing wrong at all.
“From where we are, we have a wonderful view of the linesman, where he is standing, and Paul [Heckingbottom] immediately said, ‘Offside. Lino has his flag up. And we all stared at it and wondered, “How?” How is he offside?
“It’s a really bad decision from the linesman there.”
Leeds United enjoy a lucky break in their win over the Foxes.
Replays revealed Daka was not offside when Yannik Vestergaard’s original header made contact, and the next touch came off Rutter, indicating an error by the assistant.
Once again, with VAR not in use in the Championship, teams must accept the on-field officials’ decisions as they are, and this time it helped the Whites.
A second goal at that point could have ended the game, but given the surprising three-goal swing, it’s possible that would have happened regardless.
In addition to some unusual rulings, both teams squandered several opportunities and overall failed to meet their own high standards.
However, despite coming off second best in the first half, Leeds United eventually emerged victorious as the game progressed late on, apparently opening the door to the Championship crown with only six points separating them from the top and nine consecutive wins.
