Daniel Farke believes Crysencio Summerville can get even better after the forward scored twice in Leeds’ 4-1 thrashing of Huddersfield at Elland Road.
The Dutchman – who also scored twice at Norwich last weekend – also set up a goal for Dan James as Leeds raced into a 4-0 lead during a dominant first-half display.
But Farke would like to see more from the 21-year-old, with the Leeds boss insisting: “In terms of end product he has improved a lot in comparison to the start of the season.
“I think he was already playing on a top level but it is necessary for a young player to develop so that he is getting goals and assists.
“(In training) We are always bringing him into situations where he has to finish, where he has to find the finishing pass under pressure.
“It is about consistency, so a really good week in terms of end product but come on, keep going.”
Farke was delighted with his side’s performance, adding: “If you are 4-0 up at half-time I don’t think you can complain too much.”
James fired in the opener from 25 yards as Leeds eventually made their early pressure pay.
Summerville picked his spot for the second as the visitors’ defence failed to cope with Leeds’ free-flowing style with forward Georginio Rutter once again proving a handful.
Rutter was involved again in Leeds’ third, laying the ball off to Summerville who burst from his own half to set up James who fired a shot across Lee Nicholls.
Rutter again provided the chance for the fourth Leeds goal which came in first-half stoppage time.
He burst down the left and cut the ball back for Summerville who had time to turn twice inside the area before beating Nicholls with a shot which went through a crowd of players.
Huddersfield were gifted a consolation by Leeds goalkeeper Illan Meslier who was unable to hold a shot from Sorba Thomas from outside the area.
Michal Helik had timed his move to stay onside and he fired in the rebound from close range with 70 minutes on the clock.
Huddersfield boss Darren Moore admitted his side suffered a disappointing day to end a poor week for his players on the back of a 4-0 home loss to Cardiff.
Moore said: “It’s a disappointing afternoon. It’s probably capped off what’s been a bad week for us results wise and in terms of performance.”
Moore felt his side missed the chance to get back into the game before Leeds got their second goal.
He added: “They went 1-0 up and we had a chance and if we could have capitalised on that… After that Leeds got two quick goals.
“We got into some wonderful threatening areas. When we got the ball around the Leeds area we just chose the wrong pass.
“The two quickfire goals from Leeds took the game away from us. We know they are a threatening team, certainly here.”
Moore was pleased with the way his players responded after the break, though, saying: “I made a couple of changes at half-time to solidify the team but the game just petered out in the second half.
“What I don’t want to do is lay the blame anywhere. We win together and we suffer defeats together as one.
“The team need to and will show better. We have to get back working and put this poor week behind us very quickly and move on.”
Europa Conference League: Aston Villa stunned by Olympiacos
Aston Villa were stunned by Olympiacos as they suffered a 4-2 home defeat in the Europa Conference League.
On what the Villa faithful hoped would be a famous night at Villa Park, they instead saw their team dispatched by their Greek opponents in the first leg of their semi-final encounter.
Ayoub El Kaabi scored a hat-trick for the visitors, who were 2-0 up inside 30 minutes on Thursday.
Ollie Watkins and Moussa Diaby struck either side of the interval to restore parity, but El Kaabi sealed his hat-trick from the penalty spot before Santiago Hezze added further gloss with a sensational finish. To add to Villa's misery, Douglas Luiz then missed a penalty late on.
In the other semi-final tie, Fiorentina took a 3-2 aggregate lead against Club Brugge.
M'Bala Nzola was Fiorentina's hero in stoppage time, scoring in the 91st minute to nudge the Serie A team ahead.
Hans Vanaken had scored from a penalty following a VAR check for handball in the 17th minute, cancelling out Riccardo Sottil's early opener, though Fiorentina restored their lead through Andrea Belotti before half-time in a frantic first half.
Thiago equalised for Brugge, but it was ultimately not enough.
Europa League: Wirtz and Andrich goals put Leverkusen on the brink, Marseille hold Atalanta
Bayer Leverkusen put one foot in the Europa League final as Florian Wirtz and Robert Andrich scored in Thursday's 2-0 semi-final first-leg win over Roma at the Stadio Olimpico.
Roma were masters of their own downfall as Wirtz opened the scoring after 28 minutes, Rick Karsdorp's horrible error allowing Alex Grimaldo to race into the area and tee up Wirtz to finish into an unguarded net.
Though Daniele De Rossi's hosts improved after the break, Andrich added a spectacular second with 73 minutes on the clock, the midfielder giving Mile Svilar no chance as he side-footed into the top-left corner from 25 yards out.
Roma should have pulled one back four minutes into stoppage time, but Tammy Abraham could only nod over from inside the six-yard box after a goalmouth scramble, and they now have it all to do in next week's second leg.
Leverkusen's unbeaten run for 2023-24 stands at 47 games across all competitions (39 wins, eight draws), and they are now overwhelming favourites to stamp their ticket to the final in Dublin.
The other semi-final tie remains in the balance at the halfway stage, with Atalanta being pegged back in a 1-1 draw with Marseille at the Stade Velodrome.
Having scored twice in La Dea's memorable win at Anfield in the last round, Gianluca Scamacca took in Teun Koopmeiners' pass before finishing low across goal 11 minutes in, but Gian Piero Gasperini's team couldn't hold on.
Chancel Mbemba was the unlikely goalscorer for Marseille, stepping out of defence to clip a 25-yard effort against the far post and in after 20 minutes.
Neither side could find a winner from there, meaning it's all to play for ahead of next week's return fixture at the Gewiss Stadium in Bergamo.
Orlando City v FC Cincinnati: Acosta hails visitors for absorbing punches
Luciano Acosta has hailed FC Cincinnati for coming through a testing period as they look to make it three straight wins in MLS play at Orlando City on Saturday.
After going unbeaten through their first six games of the season, Cincinnati suffered back-to-back 2-1 defeats against the New York Red Bulls and CF Montreal.
However, they have since bounced back with two wins over difficult opponents, seeing off Atlanta United and the Colorado Rapids by the same scoreline.
Acosta scored his 44th goal for Cincinnati – the most of any player in franchise history – in that latter game, and he believes their resilience has been key.
"I think it's just about our mentality," Acosta said. "We lost those two games and it was a bit of a punch that woke us up. But now it's about the mentality and getting back to it."
Head coach Pat Noonan said of Acosta: "I think what makes it more impressive is teams are going to try to prevent him from having an impact.
"When you're a key player and you're able to do what he's doing with the focus on stopping you in a lot of ways, that's what is unique."
Orlando, meanwhile, were beaten 2-1 by Toronto FC last week, halting their four-game unbeaten streak and dropping them to 13th in the Eastern Conference.
Forward Duncan McGuire felt the Lions should have taken maximum points from that game and is desperate to atone at Inter&Co Stadium.
"I definitely think we should've won," he said.
"I think how difficult this felt and how this feels for us right now is going to push us and motivate us to train hard all week, to get a win for the fans at home and get the job done."
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Orlando City – Duncan McGuire
Maguire scored his fourth goal of the MLS season against Toronto last week – no other Orlando player has netted more than once in 2024.
Those goals have come from an expected goals (xG) figure of 2.7, with the United States international also attempting a team-high 27 shots this campaign.
FC Cincinnati – Luciano Acosta
Acosta has contributed to at least one goal in four straight MLS matches (one goal, three assists).
It is Acosta's fifth streak of four or more straight regular-season games with a goal contribution for Cincinnati, with Brandon Vazquez the only other player to achieve that feat for the team.
MATCH PREDICTION – ORLANDO CITY WIN
Orlando earned a win and a draw against Supporters' Shield winners Cincinnati last season, making them one of two teams (also the New England Revolution) to play Cincinnati twice in the 2023 regular season and not lose either match.
The Lions may just fancy their chances of another positive result against Noonan's men, who have only won one of their last three away games (one draw, one defeat).
Orlando have only lost two of their last 17 regular-season home matches dating back to last April, winning nine and drawing six, so viewers should expect a response to their loss last time out.
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
Orlando City – 49.3%
FC Cincinnati – 23.6%
Draw – 27.1%
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