Leeds United man's Portsmouth away end behaviour highlighted with reaction expected

Daniel Farke saw the Dutchman's disappointment and character in the moments after the full-time whistle of a game in which he missed two gilt-edged chances. Piroe's first opportunity came from a rebound in the first half but his shot was straight at an already grounded goalkeeper. The second was an empty net chance, presented by Manor Solomon rounding the keeper, but this time Piroe skied his effort well over the crossbar. For a player with 15 goals in the Championship already this season the misses were uncharacteristic to say the least, particularly given his proximity to goal and the lack of marking or defensive pressure being put upon him. Piroe has scored far more difficult finishes from much less advantageous positions throughout his time as a Leeds player - his tally of 15 outperforms an Expected Goals [xG] total of 11.79

His personal disappointment at the end of the 1-0 defeat was obvious to boss Farke, who lauded the frontman's attitude and desire to take responsibility rather than pass it off onto the back line and Illan Meslier.

READ: Off-camera moments from Portsmouth

"He's a great character, he doesn't blame our defensive behaviour," said Farke. "We didn't need to lose this game just because of his misses, we could have gone away with a 0-0. It's due to his character that he's always self critical and was probably the most disappointed player in the dressing room. You could see it even in front of the fans, he put his shirt over his head and wanted to take responsibility.

“He doesn't have to. You can't put them all to bed. He has won us many games and scored goals from situations where you don't think you have to score. Yes, today he's missed one or two chances he should score. He's the first to hold his hands up. But we win together and lose together. Today we've lost together. He doesn't have to dwell on it. I'm sure he'll show a reaction in terms of his effectiveness."

Piroe hitting best form of his career

Piroe, a £10m signing from Swansea City in Farke's first summer in charge of Leeds, scored 13 Championship goals last season and one in the play-offs. This season he is in with a chance of equalling his best-ever English second tier tally of 22, which came in his first season as a Swansea player. The 25-year-old has also added six assists already this term, matching his career-best tally for a single campaign.

Leeds and Piroe return to league action on Wednesday night when they host Millwall at Elland Road, looking for a first win in three 2024/25 meetings with the Lions. Millwall were 1-0 victors in the league game at The Den and ran out 2-0 victors at Elland Road in the FA Cup last month. The leading goalscorer has nailed down the number 9 role this season thanks in chief to his prolific behaviour in front of goal, while Mateo Joseph has had to settle for a cameo off the bench for most of the campaign. The most experienced of Farke’s central forwards, Patrick Bamford, is once again back in team training after a hamstring injury that has kept him out of the squad since New Year’s Day.