8/10 Leeds star was as good as Summerville v Birmingham

Leeds United got back to winning ways and their free-flowing best at home to Birmingham City, Daniel Farke‘s Whites convincingly beating Wayne Rooney’s hapless Blues 3-0 at Elland Road to start 2024 off on the right foot.

Restricting the struggling visitors to just one shot on target all afternoon, Leeds were full value for the emphatic victory even with Farke having to make five changes to his once-settled lineup for the New Year’s Day clash.

Patrick Bamford benefitted from the German boss in the Leeds dugout rotating his squad with a goal on the opening day of 2024, whilst third-choice goalkeeper Kristoffer Klaesson walked off the pitch with a clean sheet come full-time filling in for an injured Karl Darlow.

Reliable figures such as Daniel James and Crysencio Summerville did also play their part in the dominant win too despite wholesale changes, with the Dutch left winger having a field day against a leaky Birmingham defence.

Summerville’s performance vs Birmingham in numbers

Summerville helped himself to a goal in the second half at the expense of Rooney’s Blues, the electric Leeds number 10 slotting an effort past a stationary John Ruddy late on after a quick passing move saw Junior Firpo find Summerville in space.

Summerville oozed confidence and class on the ball, very rarely giving away possession waywardly with a 95% pass accuracy notched up by the end of the game as per Sofascore.

The slick forward also managed to complete five key passes in the 2-0 win, an assist somehow evading him however with his partner on the opposite channel in Daniel James managing to better the on-fire Dutchman across the 90 minutes by setting up Patrick Bamford for the opener alongside scoring the game-clinching second at Elland Road.

Still, it’s yet another exhilarating display amongst many from the 22-year-old this season who is proving to be more crucial for Leeds as the months drag on in the long Championship campaign.

Georginio Rutter is also proving to be a key figure for the Whites this season, finally endearing himself to the hardened Leeds fanbase and showing now why the club splashed a record fee of £36m on the attacker in the last January transfer window with another classy performance.

Rutter’s performance v Birmingham in numbers

The former Hoffenheim man was in danger of becoming a laughing stock at Elland Road as a dud last season in the Premier League, but now, he’s integral to Farke’s second-tier side and how they tick going forward.

Switching Rutter to play behind the striker in the Blues victory was a bold but wise call by Farke, with Bamford scoring a confidence-boosting goal as a lone forward and Rutter excelling in a more creative role behind the injury-prone 30-year-old.

It could well be a spot Farke plays him in now for the foreseeable based on the match versus Birmingham, the Leeds number 24 registering three key passes in that new number ten spot in the team.

Moreover, the breakthrough Leeds star is now onto 17 big chances created as a focal point in attack this season with all of the attacking moves orchestrated against a suspect Blues side seemingly coming through Rutter.

Beren Cross writing for Leeds Live handed out an 8/10 rating to the youngster in the aftermath of the 2-0 win, stating that this switch of position allows the Frenchman the freedom to play in the ‘heart of attack’ where he was ‘pulling the strings’ versus Birmingham.

It’s not as if the 21-year-old was afraid to test Ruddy either, hitting two on-target efforts at the Blues goal in a bid to make the win even more grand.

Likewise, Rutter showed grit in the game too by winning nine duels when the contest was against Leeds in brief spells.

The Whites will just keep hoping that the likes of Rutter and Summerville excelling can keep them within touching distance of the top two in the Championship, dreaming of an immediate return to the Premier League.