Leeds United are Wembley bound once again as they officially booked their place in the EFL Championship playoff final on Thursday night.
The Whites might have looked a little timid in the reverse fixture but Daniel Farke’s side swept aside Norwich City with a scintillating display in the second leg of the semi-final.
Brushing the Canaries aside early doors, it was a party atmosphere inside Elland Road pretty much from minute one, with Leeds showing the attacking prowess we know they’re capable of.
It was probably one of their best and certainly most professional performances of the season – here’s how they got the 4-0 thrashing started.
After Ilia Gruev opened the floodgates inside just six minutes, it quickly became an exercise in seeing how many they could muster.
A lovely whipped ball from Will Gnonto set up Joël Piroe for a much-needed header to notch the second, with man of the match Georginio Rutter firing the third in off the bar – two players who answered their critics on the night.
Before you knew it, the ref’s whistle had been blown, Leeds found themselves 3-0 up at half-time and any nerves were suddenly dissolved.
They didn’t stop there, though, continuing to put pressure on Norwich – who only had one real chance through on goal – and getting their reward thanks to player of the season, Crysencio Summerville, who snapped up his 21st goal of the season.
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It might have been an up-and-down regular season and there is still a big hill to climb in the playoff final on Sunday, 26 May, but it’s performances like that prove why Leeds fans really feel they belong in the Premier League.
It remains to be seen who they’ll be playing out of Southampton and West Brom, but they’ve done everything they can on their end.
After all, they’ve been to Wembley before (old ghosts aside) and they’ve got the business done before – it’s just a case of making sure it’s this version of Leeds that turns up on the day.
Are the Whites going back up?
Featured Images — Leeds United
