Mateo Joseph played 89 minutes in Leeds United’s 2-0 win over Cardiff City. Moreover, his latest assist puts the 20-year-old in impressive company this 2024-25 Championship season.
Even though Joseph didn’t score in the contest, the young striker is receiving praise for his performance. Following the match, former Leeds forward Michael Bridges highlighted what he liked from Joseph’s performance.
“Nothing’s better for, say, myself and Stu (Dallas) playing as two attacking midfielders in behind a striker that leads the line,” Bridges said about Joseph.
“When you’re running that way and the opposition have got to follow you, it creates space for us to get on the ball – the three defenders of Cardiff are absolutely petrified of Joseph’s pace and runs in behind.
“So then that dictates play in the midfield to give us an advantage. He might not see a lot of the ball, he played a part in the goal. He’s leading the line so well.”
Mateo Joseph’s impressive assist stat
The Bluebirds ran into trouble when defender Joel Bagan was shown a straight red card for a last-man foul, leaving his team a man down. Leeds wasted no time capitalizing on the advantage, with Largie Ramazani finding the back of the net in the 30th minute to give the visitors a 1-0 lead.
In the play, Joseph provided Ramazani the pass to deliver the goal and handed Leeds the advantage. LUFC Data on X highlighted that Joseph has recorded three assists in the Championship this season, making him one of the top playmakers.
The only player ahead of him is West Bromwich Albion’s Tom Fellows, who has four assists. While the goals aren’t coming quite yet for Joseph, he’s still impacting matchups, whether it be as a facilitator or with how he’s maneuvering himself out on the pitch.
Mateo Joseph has registered 3 assists in the Championship this season. West Brom's Tom Fellows is the only player with more (4). #LUFC pic.twitter.com/5saJvP2fLE
— LUFCDATA (@LUFCDATA) September 22, 2024
A win is a win, and Leeds come away from Wales with all three points. This victory puts Daniel Farke’s squad back in the top six, but questions will linger about their performance against Cardiff City.
Leeds is now shifting their focus to another struggling team in the Championship: Coventry City. It will be interesting to see if Joseph can maintain this performance into next week.
