Daniel Farke revealed he almost took the ball off Lukas Nmecha before the substitute’s late penalty secured Leeds a winning return to the Premier League against Everton.
Summer signing Nmecha, a free transfer from Wolfsburg, held his nerve to bury his 84th-minute spot kick – just six minutes after stepping off the bench to replace Joel Piroe – to clinch Leeds a deserved 1-0 victory at Elland Road.
Farke said: “I was a bit worried. He’s on the sheet for taking penalties, but as a substitute, he needed more touches and I was thinking of stepping in there and taking the ball off him.
“Thank God I calmed myself down and he prove me right with an ice-cold finish. He deserves today to be in the spotlight after not the easiest of periods in these last few years.”
Nmecha struggled with injuries in his last two seasons in the Bundesliga and has gone under the radar since becoming the first of Leeds’ eight summer signings so far.
“He’s been excellent,” Farke said. “He’s won caps for Germany, but his last couple of seasons were pretty much interrupted with injury.
“It’s always a bit risky to bring such a player in, but this was the reason he was a free transfer, more or less a bargain.
“Just with this important goal, that is worth three points, he’s paid everything back – but we didn’t pay for him!
“He’s a great guy, a hard worker, pretty physical attributes for the Premier League.”
Leeds dominated for long periods against Everton and Farke added: “Overall, in a tight game, a hard-fought win, but also a well-deserved win.
“I think for a newly promoted side, it was an outstanding performance.
“We were very dominant in the first half. Nearly 70 per cent possession, 12 shots, I think 21 in total.”
Everton boss David Moyes admitted his side’s display did not warrant a point, but did not believe Leeds should have been awarded a penalty.
Toffees skipper James Trakowski appeared to lean into Leeds debutant Anton Stach’s deflected shot and although his arms were by his side, the ball struck his upper arm and referee Chris Kavanagh’s decision was upheld by VAR.
Moyes said: “I’m obviously going to say it’s not a penalty and I believe it’s not a penalty.
“I’ve been to see the referee. The referee sort of (had) nothing to do with it, he thought it was to do with VAR, the decision they’ve made. ”
Moyes added: “I actually think the referees have had a poor weekend in the opening weekend.
“I think there have been a lot of (poor) decisions and tonight’s is another one.”
When asked about his side’s display, Moyes added: “We improved a bit in the second half, but I wasn’t impressed by how we played at all.
“I’ve got to give great credit to Leeds. I thought they were incredibly intense, certainly for the first 30 minutes.”
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