Leeds United beat Norwich City 1-0 for their sixth win of the year, and Willy Gnonto was enjoying life after the game despite being absent due to injury.
Leeds has had a perfect start to 2024, winning every game in the Championship and FA Cup.
A difficult rearranged fixture presented itself on Wednesday evening, as playoff hopefuls Norwich City traveled the long distance to LS11.
Leeds 1-0 Norwich: Bamford’s victory offers further delight to Farke’s men.
It was a game with few huge opportunities for either team, with Illan Meslier and Angus Gunn hardly tested over the 90 minutes, with the major struggle taking place between the boxes between two more than capable midfield units.
Leeds did, however, get the all-important goal when a superb Dan James cross from the right was met by Patrick Bamford, who steered the ball back across goal beyond Gunn for 1-0 – a lead that the Whites maintained until the end and never appeared likely to be lost.
The three points are all that matters for Leeds, who came within two points of second place, giving themselves an eight-day window to climb into the automatics before anyone else plays – and the full-time whistle elicited wild celebrations from the players, understandably.
Video: Willy Gnonto buzzes in the dressing room amid contract news.
The Leeds players and Daniel Farke were overjoyed following another crucial victory that might have a significant psychological impact on the promotion chase.
Willy Gnonto was forced to watch from the sidelines owing to chronic hip flexor troubles, which also kept him out on Sunday, but he was in the same happy mood as everyone else, as demonstrated in Georginio Rutter’s Instagram video in the dressing room, singing along with the Frenchman and Glen Kamara:
It comes as new information about the Italian emerges, claiming that he is on the verge of signing a new contract with the club following season-long speculation about his future at Elland Road.
According to the Gnonto news, the player’s attitude and professionalism have improved since the pandemonium of August, as indicated by his energy in the dressing room here.
Rewinding to the moment Leeds were relegated from the Premier League, boos reverberated across Elland Road, and remorseful players received an earful from the supporters who stayed behind.
Now that everything is behind us, the players who stayed appear to enjoy their time here, as evidenced by their performances and body language.
As for Gnonto, it’s amazing to see how hard he’s worked to stay in this group, and Farke deserves respect for not giving up on him, as many other managers would have handled him differently.
