Key man needs watching but Leeds United should have nothing to overtly fear at Everton - David Prutton

LEEDS returned to some solidity in their clash against Arsenal which was good to see after the 4-1 defeats to Crystal Palace and Leicester City.
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That keeps them ticking along. Obviously the game featured the controversy involving Gjanni Alioski who never seems to be too far away from that kind of thing!

But it was imperative that Leeds managed to get themselves through that game and tonight’s trip to Everton is now next.

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Everton have been good this season but I don’t think there is anything that Leeds should overtly fear, given what we have seen from them so far.

OBVIOUS THREAT: Everton striker Dominic Calvert-Lewin, the Premier League's top scorer with ten goals, pictured next to boss Carlo Ancelotti after his hat-trick in the Carabao Cup against West Ham. Photo by Peter Byrne - Pool/Getty Images.OBVIOUS THREAT: Everton striker Dominic Calvert-Lewin, the Premier League's top scorer with ten goals, pictured next to boss Carlo Ancelotti after his hat-trick in the Carabao Cup against West Ham. Photo by Peter Byrne - Pool/Getty Images.
OBVIOUS THREAT: Everton striker Dominic Calvert-Lewin, the Premier League's top scorer with ten goals, pictured next to boss Carlo Ancelotti after his hat-trick in the Carabao Cup against West Ham. Photo by Peter Byrne - Pool/Getty Images.

Leeds had 25 attempts at goal without scoring against Arsenal meaning that the deja vu element was there and it’s something that we have spoken about before.

At times they have been clinical this season but, at other times they haven’t and that also reflects on what they were doing last season.

They can’t let themselves have too many games in the Premier League where that type of thing happens and, at the end, they are left kicking themselves.

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But profligacy is nothing new when it comes to this Leeds United side and, for some reason, it is just part of what they can be at times.

There’s no panic and no need to read too much into it and on the back of another international break it was just imperative that they got a bit of solidity back going into the next portion of the season.

Given what we have seen from the supposed powers that be in the Premier League so far this season, Leeds should give themselves a pat on the back for their performance against Arsenal but not get carried away.

Leeds will have to keep an eye on Dominic Calvert-Lewin at Everton because he has done so well under Carlo Ancelotti so far.

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Everton made the early-season running with four wins out of four but you just thought that at some stage that the table would settle down into some form of familiarity.

But while Everton are still sixth, Leeds are only five points behind in 14th so there’s no need to be too concerned about facing them.

Leeds have just got to go there and do what they have been doing to teams across the Premier League so far this season.

The game will see Marcelo Bielsa take on Ancelotti for the first time and both have had past experiences with Diego Maradona, who football is mourning the death of this week.

For me growing up, he was the only one really.

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In my formative memories of football, it almost feels like the image of Maradona would be there right at the forefront of my mind.

I had an old video which was on about his life and the 1986 World Cup and then the following World Cup which is the first one that I can properly remember.

He was a pantomime villain in that one really but what we did in 1986 was absolutely extraordinary.

What he also did with Napoli was just utterly transformative with a club that is so unique and has such a strong identity and that’s why he is so loved across the board.

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You can get bogged down in the murky world with what he was involved in off the pitch, but on it he was what you grew up wanting to be.

Like countless others, you fall far short of that but he captured the imagination of so many people which meant that watching football, or getting a glimpse of being able to see him, was just always an absolute treat.

There was an element of his life as it unfolded akin to a rock star or a movie star and there was certainly never a dull moment.

There appeared to be a lot of things that he needed to address during his life.

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But what he managed to cram into 60 years ... there are a lot of people who, if given 100 years on the planet, wouldn’t be able to do anywhere near as much as he did and he leaves rightly revered as a footballing icon.

He also leaves behind questionable actions and behaviour but, viewing him as a footballer and what he meant to be football fans, he was absolutely glorious.

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Thank you Laura Collins

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