Ao Tanaka's post-Everton message shows why he is perfect for Leeds United - Willy Gnonto responds
The Leeds United midfielder was one of several to get a first taste of Premier League football against Everton on Monday.
A humble Ao Tanaka believes he still has so much to learn after making his Premier League debut for Leeds United on Monday.
Tanaka formed part of an outstanding midfield unit as Leeds kicked off their Premier League return with an impressive 1-0 win over Everton. Lukas Nmecha scored the decisive goal from the penalty spot on 84 minutes following James Tarkowski’s handball, with Daniel Farke’s side dominant throughout and deserving of their win.
A huge part of Leeds’ success on Monday came from midfield, with Tanaka and Anton Stach enjoying all-action performances while Ethan Ampadu anchored the trio, clattering into tackles and breaking up Everton play. David Moyes’ side were unable to cope with the energy in that area of the pitch and found little joy in bypassing it either.
Tanaka appeared intent on answering early questions over his physicality with a performance equal parts aggression and technical nous, the Japan international often popping up in the spaces usually occupied by a No.10. He was outstanding on the night but in typical fashion, insisted there is more to come.
In a post on Instagram alongside pictures from the night, he wrote: “This is why I came to Europe. Massive 3 points. After 4 years in Europe I finally made it to the Premier League. Honestly there are only things I can't do and challenges but I'm happy to even feel it at this level. I still have a lot to do but I'll try harder.”
That verdict is evidence of Tanaka’s willingness to learn and improve, a major strength Leeds fans have come to love since his £3m move from Fortuna Dusseldorf last summer. On Monday’s evidence at least, the 26-year-old is able to make that step up to the Premier League and earned plenty of love from his teammates too.
Pascal Struijk and Willy Gnonto respond to post
Underneath the Instagram post, teammate Pascal Struijk posted an emoji showing his appreciation of the midfielder, while Gnonto somewhat jokingly poked fun at the context of Tanaka’s post. The Italian winger wrote: “Don’t make me cry”.
And while all of Leeds will have been pleased with Tanaka’s performance on Monday, Farke appeared to hand out a quick lesson during the full-time celebrations. The Whites boss pulled his midfielder aside for a detailed chat which was picked up by TV cameras, pointing at his head and seemingly reflecting on a situation that occurred during the game.
“Yes, you know Elland Road is second to none, also pretty unique with the atmosphere and when the fire is burning and the emotions are high, sometimes you can lose the nerve,” Farke said. “So we had a 1-0 lead and both of my number eights in midfield, Anton Stach and Ao Tanaka, were doing channel runs in the 90th minute and we were pretty open in our rest defending.
“I like that he [Tanaka] is such an emotional player. He can also set the stadium on fire. But it's also important that we have to play pragmatically, because it makes no sense to set the stadium on fire, and then you concede a late equaliser. So it's important to bring it over the line, and this is what we spoke about.”