Joel Piroe was the coolest man at Elland Road to finally make sure of Leeds United’s win over Queens Park Rangers.
Piroe slotted home from inside the area in the fifth minute of added time to put Leeds 2-0 ahead and seal an important return to winning ways after the midweek defeat at Millwall.
Prior to that, Leeds had found it difficult to score that elusive second goal as chances for the likes of Sam Byram, Jayden Bogle and Manor Solomon all went begging.
Daniel Farke was critical of Wilfried Gnonto post-match for the lack of quality in his pass that led to Solomon’s chance, but thankfully Piroe was able to show his teammates how its done.
Leigh Bromby says Piroe is the only player in Leeds’ squad actually capable of showing that sort of composure in the final third.
Piroe makes history in Leeds win vs QPR
Piroe had started each of Leeds’ last six league matches prior to QPR, as Mateo Joseph took his place in attack.
Of Piroe’s six goals this season, only two of those have come in the seven games he has started, with the rest coming as an impact sub.
The 25-year-old has played a crucial role in helping Leeds put games to bed, scoring the final goal in each of the wins over Hull City, Cardiff City, Coventry City and now QPR.
That means Piroe now has an impressive four goals as a substitute already this season, taking his tally up to six across the calendar year of 2024.
And according to Opta statistician Jonny Cooper, Piroe has actually made club history with his goal against the R’s.
Piroe has become the first player in Leeds’ entire 105-year existence to have scored six goals as a substitute in a single calendar year, which is very impressive.
Farke needs to keep Piroe as Leeds’ super sub
Though Piroe can take pride in breaking this Leeds record, Farke should really be using this as a learning curve on how to get the best out of him.
Piroe has been poor in recent weeks when starting matches and that is reflected by his lack of goals in those appearances.
However, when Leeds are ahead and sides are chasing the game, it gives him the time and space he needs to get in the right areas to finish off chances.
Farke should keep Joseph in the XI at Swansea City and use Piroe as that impact sub, which is shown to work really well.
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