Farke must drop Leeds flop who was even worse than Dan James vs Norwich

Leeds United F.C. reached the quarter-finals of the FA Cup for the first time in over 20 years after a comfortable 3–0 victory against Norwich City F.C. at Elland Road on Sunday.

The Whites controlled the match against a Championship side heavily affected by injuries, with goals coming from Sean Longstaff, Gabriel Gudmundsson, and Joel Piroe.
Piroe, who has struggled for minutes in the Premier League, ended a long goal drought by scoring for the first time since netting in the Championship last April.

Playing in a number-ten role, the Dutch forward impressed by scoring once and creating two chances, potentially giving head coach Daniel Farke something to think about ahead of upcoming league matches.

Farke made several changes to his starting XI in order to rotate the squad and give fringe players the opportunity to prove themselves. Some of those players seized the moment with strong displays during the comfortable win.
Leeds dominate despite Norwich form
Norwich entered the tie in excellent form, having won nine of their previous eleven games in all competitions. However, the visitors were severely weakened by injuries, missing 13 senior players and even deploying defensive midfielder Liam Gibbs on the right wing.

Leeds still had work to do, but they executed their game plan superbly. Their aggressive pressing forced Norwich’s second-choice goalkeeper Dan Grimshaw to play long balls toward striker Mathias Kvistgaarden, allowing Leeds to dominate possession and territory.

The heavy rotation also meant many Leeds players were fresh, helping them maintain a relentless press throughout the match. That intensity eventually translated into goals, with Leeds scoring twice before the break before Piroe sealed the result late in the game.
A difficult outing for James and Gnonto
Dan James was one of the players hoping to impress, but the Wales international struggled to make an impact.

He failed with all four of his attempted crosses and did not register a shot on target, though he did manage to create one big chance.

However, Wilfried Gnonto arguably had an even tougher afternoon. The Italian winger started on the left flank but failed to make the most of the opportunity.

Gnonto lost possession 12 times from just 44 touches and did not create a single big chance.

His performance highlighted why he has rarely started in the Premier League this season, with his last league start coming in November’s 3–2 defeat to Manchester City F.C..

It was a similar story earlier in the FA Cup against Birmingham City F.C., where the 22-year-old completed no dribbles, created no chances, and failed to record a shot on target before being substituted after 68 minutes.

Following another underwhelming display against Norwich, it remains uncertain how many opportunities Gnonto will receive in the coming weeks as Leeds focus on their fight to avoid Premier League relegation.