Jesse Marsch watched Willy Gnonto’s wonder goal and warned: 'He's only going to get better.'
That will strike fear into Premier League defences after the teenage star helped fire Leeds into the FA Cup fourth round. The brilliant Italy international scored his sublime opener after just 26 SECONDS to ease pressure on Marsch. United had won just twice in 17 games to leave the American chief in the mire.
But they eased into the fourth round for the first time in six years after two-goal Gnonto’s masterclass floored Championship strugglers Cardiff. Gnonto latched onto Rodrigo’s clever chipped cross to volley in from six yards out with a quality scissors effort. Although not as spectacular, it was reminiscent of fellow Italian Paolo Di Canio’s famous strike for West Ham in 2000.
Gnonto had already quickly endeared himself to Leeds fans with his skills and trickery following his £3.8m switch from FC Zurich in September. But this was a sight of his scoring prowess; the 19-year-old’s stunner was only his second goal in ten appearances. Marsch admitted: “We asked for a fast start and it couldn’t have gone any better.
“It was a good diagonal ball from Rodrigo, really clever from Willy to fox the defender and then an incredible finish. He’s really happy with that. We knew about him for a while and we initially had a little more of an idea to bring him in the future.
“But we brought him in early and he’s shown what he can do. He is very humble, grounded and a real human being who wants to improve. He’s worth more than four million now. I like working with young, attacking explosive talent.”
Rodrigo also scored for Leeds before they broke brilliantly for Jack Harrison to set up Gnonto’s second. After Gnonto almost fired in his hat-trick, classy substitute Patrick Bamford weighed in with two second-half goals to build on United's 3-0 interval lead. Cardiff had few chances until Callum Robinson scored a late header and an injury-time penalty.
The real test for Leeds, of course, is when Brentford visit in the Premier League on Sunday. But with this new-found confidence they will fancy their chances. Especially as they also have £36m record signing striker Georginio Rutter - given a rapturous welcome at half-time - ready to debut.
Last night was some baptism of fire for Cardiff caretaker manager Dean Whitehead’s first game in charge. He admitted: “We got punished every time we made mistakes. To come back in the last ten minutes and score two we can take positives. But I’m just looking forward to the weekend and preparing the team as best as we can for Millwall. That’s our big game.”
