Calvert-Lewin comes in for unexpected Keane praise with MOTD pundit in awe after ‘brilliant’ season | OneFootball

Dominic Calvert-Lewin has earned wholesome praise from an unexpected source in Roy Keane after netting his 14th Premier League goal of the season for Leeds United on Sunday as the Whites climbed to 14th in the table with a smash-and-grab 1-0 win over Brighton at Elland Road.

Second best for long periods, Leeds stole the points from their Champions League chasing visitors, who had dominated for long periods of the second half but were unable to find a breakthrough, thanks to Calvert-Lewin‘s 95th-minute opportunistic strike.

That goal proved to be the latest winning goal Leeds had ever scored in their Premier League history.

It also moved Daniel Farke’s side up to the comforts of mid-table – not bad for a side who have spent much of the campaign battling to escape the clutches of the relegation zone.

That result ensures Leeds are also now eight games unbeaten in the Premier League – the longest enjoyed by a newly-promoted side since Birmingham (12 games) in the 2009/10 season.

The Whites have also accrued three successive Premier League wins at Elland Road for the first time since 2001, while Farke’s side have now won more points than all but two other Premier League sides since early March.

While Sunday’s win was very much smash and grab, it was only made possible by a very alert Calvert-Lewin, who latched on to a weak Jan Paul van Hecke backpass to round Bart Verbruggen and slide the ball into an empty net.

That was the England hopeful’s 14th goal of an excellent debut campaign for Leeds, and Keane could not help but be impressed.

“Yeah, listen, it is poor defending and decision-making, and I’m not sure what the goalkeeper is doing either”, Calvert-Lewin said on Sky Sports.

“Credit to Leeds, they stuck at it, they have good spirit, and they never gave up.

“It was their first shot on target, but look, Calvert-Lewin does what all good strikers do and chases a lost cause, and he gets his reward.

“Look, I think Brighton will be kicking themselves. It’s a moment that I think will cost Brighton dearly, but huge credit to Leeds.

“What a signing he has been, Calvert-Lewin on a free. A brilliant signing who could not have done any more for Leeds.”

He wasn’t the only pundit to praise Calvert-Lewin either…

MOTD pundit insists Calvert-Lewin has silenced critics at Leeds

While Calvert-Lewin was seen as a desperate signing by many, this piece, written way back in early September, explained why he was a risk worth taking and getting him back to his best would be key to Leeds’ survival.

Indeed, Match of the Day pundit Mark Schwarzer believes Calvert-Lewin has silenced his doubters by his performances for the Whites and reckons the 28-year-old has proved a brilliant investment by Leeds.

“There is no doubting his ability”, Schwarzer said on Match of the Day.

“He is a really accomplished striker who has had a stop-start career because of injuries.

“The question was, is he going to be fit long enough to make a difference?

“He has certainly answered all those questions; he has been absolutely excellent for Leeds.

“In the end, he was not a risk at all.”

There can surely have been no better free transfer signings in the Premier League over recent years and he will hope his performances will be enough, as the joint highest English scorer in the Premier League this season, to have earned a place in Thomas Tuchel’s World Cup squad.