Better than Calvert-Lewin: “Ridiculous” Leeds star looks like “one of the best” in the PL

Leeds United moved nine points clear of the bottom three ahead of the weekend’s fixtures in the Premier League with a 3-1 win over Nottingham Forest on Friday night.

It was a huge six-pointer at the bottom of the table, against the team a place below them in the division, and Daniel Farke’s side stepped up to the plate with a terrific performance.

Dominic Calvert-Lewin added his tenth Premier League goal of the season by chesting the ball into the bottom corner from Ilia Gruev’s cross into the box, capping off a performance that was kickstarted by goals from Jayden Bogle and Noah Okafor.

The former Everton number nine has hit double figures for goals in the top-flight for the first time since he scored 16 times for the Toffees in the 2020/21 campaign under Carlo Ancelotti.

Leeds have hit the jackpot with the former England international because they took a risk on him on a free transfer after he only scored three times in the Premier League last season for Everton, and now he already has more than three times as many goals this term.

Despite his impressive goal tally in the division and his improvised finish to make it 3-0 against Nottingham Forest, Calvert-Lewin was not the best player on the pitch for the Whites.

Why Calvert-Lewin was not Leeds’ best player against Forest

The towering centre-forward has been a brilliant outlet for Leeds, even when he has not been scoring goals, because of his ability to duel with defenders and be a constant nuisance to the backline.

He scored the third goal in the game by improvising brilliantly to find the back of Stefan Ortega’s net, on the ex-Manchester City goalkeeper’s debut, and deserves credit for that.

Calvert-Lewin was not at his very best in his physical duels against Morato and Nikola Milenkovic, though, as he only won four of his 12 duels throughout the 90 minutes.

The experienced marksman may also feel that he should have come away from the match with two goals to his name, as he lept to get a good connection on a header that came back off the crossbar.

Whilst it was still a good display from the Leeds frontman, because he scored in the game and contributed to the win, one of his teammates was the real star of the show.

The Leeds star who is one of the best in the Premier League

Calvert-Lewin ranked in 12th place in the Premier League Power Rankings ahead of play, but one of his fellow Leeds stars should join him near the top of that list after his display on Friday.

Gabriel Gudmundsson put on a masterclass against the Tricky Trees with a phenomenal performance. His energy and quality in the early stages of the match set the tempo for Farke’s side, with several brilliant bursts into the box to put Forest on the back foot.

The Sweden international completed a game-high five dribbles, out of six attempts, and gave Forest full-back Zach Abbott, making his full Premier League debut, a real welcome to the league moment.

Abbott may go on to be a top player, and could use this experience to do so, but he had a torrid evening against the Leeds full-back, who ran riot down the left flank at Elland Road.

During the match, presenter Jack Durkin posted that Gudmundsson is “one of the best LB’s in the Premier League” and described him as a “ridiculous” player.

It is very difficult to disagree with that assessment after watching how influential he was at both ends of the pitch on Friday night, completing five dribbles, winning 11 duels, and making four tackles in 90 minutes. He impacted the game defensively and offensively with his unbelievable engine, tenacious tackling, and willingness to drive forward and take players on, which is why he was even better than Calvert-Lewin, who struggled a little bit outside of the goal that he scored.

Only two players, one of which is a central midfielder, have won more ground duels than Gudmundsson in the Premier League this season, which shows that his effectiveness in duels against Forest was not a flash in the pan.

The Swedish star has consistently shown that he can deliver quality defensively and in possession in the top-flight for Leeds since his move from Lille last summer, and is clearly one of the best in the division at winning duels.

He looks like one of the best players in the Premier League at the moment, due to the team’s run of two losses in 11 matches and his exceptional performances at left-back, and long may it continue.