The former Aston Villa defender described Leeds United’s performance against Southampton as underwhelming in the Championship play-off final.
Micah Richards has criticized Leeds United forward Wilfried Gnonto’s performance in the Championship play-off final against Southampton on Sunday afternoon.
The Whites were defeated at Wembley Stadium for the second time, having previously lost 1-0 to Doncaster Rovers in the League One play-off final 16 years earlier. And Daniel Farke’s current crop fell by the same score, as Adam Armstrong’s first-half strike proved to be the difference between the two teams.
Daniel James came close for the Yorkshire club on two occasions. The Welshman’s initial effort bounced against the crossbar, then Alex McCarthy dove low to his left to save another goal-bound strike from the 26-year-old.
It was a dismal afternoon for Leeds’ forwards, as Farke started the game with an offensive quintet of Crysencio Summerville, Joel Piroe, Georginio Rutter, and Gnonto, who combined for 52 goals this season. However, it was James’ debut that brought the Whites’ attacking threat to life, but it was too little, too late.
Following the final whistle, there was significant condemnation of the Leeds players, with Troy Deeney naming four or five of Farke’s squad members who showed little respect for their opponents after their defeat was confirmed. However, Richards has picked one player for his performance under the Wembley arch.
Richards, who spoke on the current episode of the Rest Is Football podcast alongside Alan Shearer and Gary Lineker, chastised Gnonto for continuing to come inside when there appeared to be space out wide. The original chat began with former Saints striker Shearer criticising Leeds’ performance and explaining the key difference between the two teams on the afternoon.
“I saw it all, and I think Southampton deserved it. I thought Leeds were absolutely bad, with nothing up front, whereas Southampton had Adam Armstrong.
“I’ve scored around 20 goals this season. He’s a Geordie boy doing well down south, and he made the difference. He had one chance and squandered it, and Leeds received nothing in exchange, Micah.
The former Aston Villa defender continued the debate, revealing that Leeds missed Patrick Bamford, who was sidelined with a knee injury. He remarked, “They didn’t have anything, which astonished me because they were excellent in the two-legged semi-finals, or at least in the second leg.
“They didn’t show up. I believe they missed Bamford holding up the ball, and Rutter did not have a particularly good game. It was funny because there was so much room on the right side of the pitch, but Gnonto kept going inside, and I was like,’stay wide and try to beat your man’.
“Until Dan James came on in the second half, they had run out of options. Obviously, they had that opportunity with James when he hit the crossbar, but I was quite unhappy with Leeds because I could hear the fans all day.
“I was staying by the station in Kings Cross, and they had been singing all morning, and I expected them to bring that extra enthusiasm to Wembley, but it didn’t translate to the pitch, which was disappointing. I was confident Leeds could pull it off on the day.”
