Neil Maddison has criticized Leeds United striker Patrick Bamford for a “nasty” challenge during the Whites’ match against Middlesbrough.
Crysencio Summerville, Wilfried Gnonto, and Bamford scored to propel Daniel Farke’s team back into the Championship’s automatic promotion positions with a 4-3 victory at the Riverside Stadium on Monday (22 April).
While the Englishman garnered a lot of acclaim for his improvised finish midway through the first half, BBC Sport analyst Maddison chastised the Leeds striker for a late tackle on Finn Azaz.
On Monday (22 April, 20:49), he told BBC Tees: “I don’t think he understood anything about it, but it looked bad from Bamford. Fortunately, Azaz appears to be fine.
Leeds United striker Patrick Bamford criticized for ‘nasty’ incident against Middlesbrough.
It felt a little unfair that Bamford was criticised for his tackle on Azaz because it was clear that the Leeds United forward had not intended to damage the Middlesbrough player; instead, he had just lost his balance.
His challenge was awkward and certainly earned a booking because it appeared to hurt Azaz, but there was clearly no intent behind it. There were numerous other tackles in the game that went unpunished that were far worse.
While Bamford has always been a contentious figure in the Leeds squad, his goals have proven to be critical in the Whites’ promotion push. Without him guiding the way, Farke’s team would have dropped out of the top two.
Hopefully, he can keep his form up until the end of the season. If he stays fit and firing over the next few weeks, Farke’s team will have a good chance of overcoming Leicester and Ipswich for the crown.
