Leeds 0-2 Newcastle: Five talking points from Elland Road
Monday 21 November 2016 15:09, UK
Newcastle recorded a 2-0 victory over Leeds at Elland Road on Sunday to extend their lead at the top of the Sky Bet Championship.
Dwight Gayle capitalised on a Rob Green error to open the scoring for the away side, and netted again after the break to secure the three points.
Here, we pick out five talking points from the match at Elland Road...
Newcastle look unstoppable
Eight wins in a row now for Rafa Benitez's side, and it's hard to see where the next dropped points are going to come from.
Newcastle now sit five points clear at the top of the Sky Bet Championship, and surely with the quality they possess it's a matter of when, rather than if, they get promoted.
In fact, no side has won eight games in a row in the second tier and failed to get promoted since 1982.
Gayle force
And if Dwight Gayle manages to keep scoring at his current rate, it is impossible to see how Newcastle won't keep winning games. The striker added his 12th and 13th strikes of the campaign on Sunday, three more than any other striker has managed in the Championship this season.
It does make you wonder if Newcastle would even be in a position to need promotion back to the Premier League if they'd had a goalscorer of Gayle's calibre at their disposal last season.
He may not have always been a regular at Crystal Palace, but 25 goals in 74 games in all competitions was a very respectable return and Alan Pardew may already be regretting letting him go, considering the Eagles' tentative position just above the drop zone in the top flight.
Things are looking up at Leeds
Despite defeat, there was still an incredibly positive atmosphere around Elland Road as the home fans tentatively begin to look up for the first time in a long while.
More than 36,000 fans were packed in as the famous old ground sold out for the first time in more than six years, and under Garry Monk it feels like a play-off push is a real possibility. They currently sit just a point and a place off Norwich in sixth, and won't have to face many tougher challenges than Newcastle this season.
Hopefully the last couple of months will be a lesson to Massimo Cellino, who was watching on in the stands, that sacking managers after just a few poor results is not always the way to go.
Green has another shocker
But it could have been so much better for Leeds, were it not for Green's disastrous error in the first half that led to Newcastle's opener.
According to Opta, the goalkeeper has made 20 errors leading to goals since August 2012, five more than any other stopper in the top two divisions in England.
Newcastle were dominating but struggled to create chances until Green allowed Gayle in, and you wonder how the game would have turned out if he had just managed to hold or clear the ball.
Impressive Ayling
Leeds left-back Charlie Taylor has reportedly turned the heads of Premier League scouts this season, but it was his team-mate on the opposite side who was their standout player on the day.
Luke Ayling was the home side's biggest attacking threat all afternoon from right-back, and even forced Karl Darlow into his best save of the game, as the Newcastle goalkeeper tipped his header over the bar in the first half.
Leeds lost Sam Byram to West Ham last January, and if Ayling keeps turning in performances like he did on Sunday, they may face a battle to keep hold of their right-back again in the winter window.
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