Jermain Defoe lauds brilliant Jack Harrison moment in Leeds win

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Jermain Defoe has lauded Jack Harrison after his ‘brilliant’ performance for Leeds United in their win over Chelsea, highlighting one second-half moment on Match of the Day 2 that the winger may not get the full credit he deserves for.

Jesse Marsch’s men made a real statement on Sunday. They beat the Blues 3-0 at Elland Road and produced an amazing performance along the way.

Chelsea were left stunned and were completely outplayed by the Whites. And a number of Leeds players proved to be contenders for the player of the match award.

Brenden Aaronson was relentless and Rodrigo has continued his stunning start to the season in front of goal. But perhaps Harrison was the best of the lot.

The winger rounded off the scoring after also setting up Rodrigo for the second. And he gave the likes of Reece James and Ruben Loftus-Cheek a torrid afternoon.

‘Fantastic’

But it was not only what he did in the final third which impressed Defoe. The Premier League legend picked out one occasion where Chelsea broke from a Leeds corner as the moment which epitomised just how much Harrison brings to the side.

Harrison actually took the corner. And yet, by the time Chelsea got a shot away, it was the winger blocking the attempt on the edge of his box.

“This one, I just want to highlight him there at the top. He puts the corner in and some players may switch off and try and get in the box. You see him here, senses danger, realises if he switches off there, on the turnover it could become two on one,” he told Match of the Day 2.

“He gets back into a defensive position, delays the play and he waits. Watch him here, and he ends up getting a block, which is fantastic because he’s the man who actually took the corner.

“It’s brilliant, it’s the side of the game people don’t talk about.”

Harrison brilliant in Leeds win

Leeds fans may have had concerns over how Harrison would fare in Jesse Marsch’s system. The American has tended to prefer a narrower formation. And with that, it seemed that a natural winger may be less influential.

Certainly, Raphinha was at his best in the final games of the season when Marsch seemed to give him more freedom.

But Harrison has alleviated all of those concerns emphatically. He has been playing the best football of his career at the start of this season.

And it says a lot on a day where Leeds produced arguably their best performance since their Premier League return, it was Harrison who proved to be the star of the show.