Kyle Newbould: Leeds United 3-1 Burnley, three key takeaways from Elland Road | OneFootball

Leeds United took another major step towards Premier League safety with a 3-1 home win over Burnley, as Anton Stach, Noah Okafor and Dominic Calvert-Lewin scored to open a nine-point gap to 18th-placed Tottenham Hotspur.

yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk highlights three key takeaways from a night the hosts controlled.

Stach drove in from 25 yards inside eight minutes, then after the break Okafor volleyed in on 52 minutes and Calvert-Lewin swiftly made it 3-0 from close range. Loum Tchaouna replied for Burnley, but Leeds managed the closing stages with little fuss.

The German cushioned a line-breaking Jaka Bijol pass with his right foot and, in one motion, lashed a left-footed shot inside Martin Dubravka’s near post. It was his fourth Premier League goal from outside the box this season, and no one has more, with Liverpool’s Dominic Szoboszlai and Manchester City’s Antoine Semenyo level. At 6ft 4ins, Stach underpinned another standout display that strengthens his Player of the Season case.

Leeds were intent on a fast start after last week’s sluggish FA Cup semi-final, and they dictated from kick-off. That early strike brought their 24th first-half effort of the Premier League season, a figure bettered only by Arsenal and Manchester City. On first-half results alone, Friday’s 1-0 would have lifted Daniel Farke’s side to sixth in that notional table.

Holding those advantages has been mixed for a newly promoted team, but fast starts give Leeds a foothold and energise Elland Road.

Leeds are virtually safe, and the win also moved them above Newcastle United into 14th, level with Crystal Palace and three behind Sunderland in 12th. Chairman Paraag Marathe said in the summer that anything above 18th would be ‘gravy’, yet with three matches left there is scope to climb and add prize money. Stach said the final three games matter, that the mood is good, the bond with the fans clear, and that they hope to collect more wins.

Source: yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk