COOPER BACKS BIELSA TO SORT IT FOR LEEDS
WHISPER it but Armando Broja may just be the latest big thing to hit the Premier League.
The on- loan Chelsea striker produced the kind of performance on his full league debut for Southampton that suggests there is so much more to come.
The English- born Albanian international scored the winner, his 6ft 3in figure was a constant nightmare for Leeds as was his work rate which resulted in him being replaced towards the end with cramp.
But after reflecting on his special day, he then set his sights higher.
Broja (20), who already has three goals for Albania and spent last season on loan at Vitesse Arnhem, said: “This opportunity is amazing. I’ve been dreaming about it.
“Everyone wants to be here in the Premier League, everyone wants to play here and to get my first start and my first goal is just a dream come true. I can’t really put it into words how special this day was for me.
Amazing
“This is an amazing time for me but I just want to carry on, remain calm and keep my feet on the ground.
Hopefully there will be many more goals.”
Ralph Hasenhuttl’s selection saw Adam Armstrong dropped and on the bench along with Stuart Armstrong, Ireland hero Shane
Long and Theo
Walcott; this was very much a new Southampton.
It was the partnership of Broja’s old-fashioned centre-forward play and Nathan Redmond’s speed and guile that finally gave Saints their first League win of the season.
The pair combined on the counter- attack with
LIAM COOPER insists Leeds will be just fine – as they have the king of analysts in charge.
The Whites suffered another bad day and have just one Premier League win all season.
But boss Marcelo Bielsa is known for his thorough approach to setbacks and skipper Cooper reckons there will be a response against Wolves next week.
He said: “If it’s any team who are going to analyse and put it right, that’s us. We will train this week and try and get a result.
“We need to learn from it. We will put it right for next week.
“We have to react against Wolves, we have to do that. We need to analyse what we’ve done wrong and what we need to do to put it right.”
Host
Leeds were without a host of players including Kalvin Phillips, Raphinha and Patrick Bamford.
Cooper (inset) added: “You take two of the dominant players out of any team in the league and they feel it. But we can’t use that as an excuse.”
Leeds admitted defeat in their attempts to play Raphinha after he scored twice for Brazil in the early hours of Friday. Bielsa said: “He played 70 minutes, flew 15 hours, he got here, he rested, and on Saturday he was not in the condition to play. It was impossible to know this when the decision to fly was taken.”