Phil Hay finds it “completely ridiculous” that Georginio Rutter is closing up on 20 assists for Leeds United this season.
On The Square Podcast on Monday (18 March), the Athletic journalist stated that the Whites had “slivers of class” that made the difference in their 2-0 win over Millwall on Sunday (17 March).
He added that Daniel Farke‘s side is proving “very hard to compete with” for clubs across the division, with the 21-year-old Rutter setting up both goals against the Lions at Elland Road.
“Leeds just had those slivers of class that made the difference and that is why time after time managers like Neil Harris are sitting down and saying ‘we can’t realistically compete with or hope to beat this kind of team over and over again because they’re just far too good and it’s why Leeds are probably going up because they play like this’,” Hay said in a statement.
“They have players like Gnonto, who contributed little before Christmas but is now scoring at a healthy pace, James, who is now nearly up to 20 goals and assists combined, and Rutter, who is nearly up to 20 assists alone, which is utterly absurd.
“Just that element and that degree are really difficult to compete with if you’re in the middle of the table or facing relegation. It’s actually become impossible to compete with when you’re also at the top.”
Georginio Rutter is on fire for Leeds United.
Rutter had another superb performance for Leeds against Millwall, setting up both Willy Gnonto and Dan James‘ goals, bringing his season assist total to 18.
With little over 10 minutes remaining, the French forward demonstrated remarkable talent by shrugging off his man and passing the ball off to James, who sealed the win.
While the Whites‘ first-half performance was not particularly memorable, they have the talent to complete the task even when they are not at their peak.
After Leicester City‘s FA Cup match against Chelsea over the weekend, Farke’s side rose to the top of the Championship standings with the win.
When his players return from the international break in a few weeks, the German manager will expect them to retain the consistency they have displayed this calendar year.
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