Journalist James Horncastle admitted that he was ‘baffled’ that Leeds United head coach Jesse Marsch hadn’t used Wilfried Gnonto sooner following his debut against Liverpool.
The Lowdown: Anfield win
The Whites stunned Jurgen Klopp’s side in the Premier League on Saturday night, with Crysencio Summerville’s late strike sealing a 2-1 win. Gnonto played his part in the winner, with his nice play and cross leading to Patrick Bamford setting up Summerville.
The Italy international replaced Jack Harrison after 72 minutes and impressed, winning all three of his ground duels and completing 100% of his dribbles and crosses. [SofaScore]
The Latest: Horncastle reacts
Horncastle, who covers Serie A for The Athletic, took to Twitter after the win for Leeds on Saturday to talk about Gnonto.
The journalist, who also appears on BT Sport’s Champions League coverage, tweeted: “Gnonto makes things happen. Did so on his debut for Italy. Does so again tonight with ball in for Bamford and Cry. Bit baffled it’s taken this long to use him”.
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The Verdict: Finally…
Leeds supporters had to remain patient to see Gnonto in action following his arrival at Elland Road on transfer deadline day, but it’s fair to say it was worth the wait as he made an impact on his first-team debut.
It was a bold move by Marsch to give the Italian his bow with the game finely poised, so credit is due to both player and manager as the 18-year-old helped the Whites to earn a first win since August with quality in the final third.
The headlines will go to Summerville, but hopefully the Leeds boss will be willing to give Gnonto more game-time against Bournemouth and Tottenham prior to the World Cup.