The Leeds United crowd inside Elland Road may have felt a sense of deja vu in the victory against Crystal Palace, as they witnessed a display worthy of a hero of the past.
Daniel Farke will have felt a sense of deep satisfaction at his side’s performance against Crystal Palace, as several of his summer signings excelled in the 4-1 win.
The victory was completed by a brilliant free-kick from Anton Stach, as he wrong-footed goalkeeper Dean Henderson, capping off a strong personal display.
Although the German enjoyed a strong start to life at Leeds, injuries disrupted Stach’s progress and saw him briefly dropped from Farke’s starting line-up.
However, he was back to his best in the win over Palace, and showed that Leeds have finally replaced cult-hero Mateusz Klich in the centre of their midfield.
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Anton Stach mirrors Mateusz Klich for Leeds United
Any Leeds fan who was present to watch the Whites demolish Middlesbrough in 2019 could be forgiven for thinking they had seen Stach’s goal before, or at least one that was very similar.
Leeds secured a routine 4-0 win over Boro under Marcelo Bielsa, and Klich rounded off the scoring with a curling effort from almost exactly the same spot that Stach scored from, with the only differences being that Klich scored from open play and the ball went to the opposite corner of the goal.
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Klich established himself as a firm favourite at Leeds, as he provided a rare mix of tenacity, quality on the ball and an eye for a long-range goal.
Stach now has three Leeds goals to his name, which is a handy contribution from midfield, two of which have come from direct free-kicks.
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However, Stach’s goal was simply the icing on the cake of a dynamic performance in midfield, as he helped Leeds dominate Palace’s playmakers and create several chances with his accurate set pieces.
The Leeds midfield has lacked a hybrid playmaker in the mould of Klich, someone who is capable of doing the defensive dirty work while still contributing in attack. Almost three years after Leeds’ Polish cult hero left under Jesse Marsch, the club appear to have finally replaced him.
Anton Stach pleased with gritty win over Crystal Palace
Speaking to the media after the game, via the Yorkshire Evening Post, Stach explained why the win over Palace was so satisfying to Farke’s side.
Ethan Ampadu said that Leeds players needed fighting spirit to play for the club after the game, and Stach believes the players showed that in abundance.
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Leeds are currently the Premier League’s best set-piece takers
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The midfielder said: “We knew it would be a difficult game – we stuck to it really good in the first half. It was not the nicest football match, I don’t think, but many set-pieces, and we need to be strong in this aspect. Then we scored two out of it.
“After half-time, we talked to each other, and we were confident we needed to keep going and needed to be brave in pressing to create more chances, to make it hard for them to create chances.”
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