Leeds United 2-0 Hull City: FLW report as Whites turn second-half screw to secure win | OneFootball

Report, ratings and reaction from Leeds United's win over Hull City at Elland Road.

Manor Solomon helped inspire Leeds United to a 2-0 victory over Hull City at Elland Road, as the Whites' unbeaten start to the 2024/25 Championship season continued.

Leeds' goals came in the second-half through Mateo Joseph and Joel Piroe - Solomon teeing up the first on his debut after joining on loan from Tottenham last week.

Leeds United 2-0 Hull City

There was plenty of early pressure from Leeds, with Manor Solomon looking lively amongst Daniel Farke's attackers. Willy Gnonto had the ball in the net from a flicked-on corner, but was ruled offside.

Despite Leeds' territory, Ivor Pandur didn't have a great deal of work to do, and it was Illan Meslier producing the first big save of the game, denying Chris Bedia's rising drive.

As the first-half wore on, Hull took the game to Leeds more and more, with Liam Millar's influence growing - the Canadian flashed over after cutting in onto his right, and sliced a shot straight at Meslier heading into half-time.

Leeds' start to the second-half mirrored their start to the first, with Brenden Aaronson punching a shot straight at Pandur when he should've made the Hull stopper work harder.

Junior Firpo saw a shot blocked and Solomon couldn't get the elevation on a shooting opportunity to test Pandur properly.

Farke's side's breakthrough was coming, though, and it was Solomon that inspired it with some fabulous wing-play. The Tottenham loanee beat Will Jarvis and Lewie Coyle on the left, crossing for Mateo Joseph to steal in and poke Leeds into the lead.

As Farke looked to squeeze the game beyond Hull, he turned to his bench for fresh legs - Joel Piroe and Largue Ramazani. The latter provided good energy, but it was the former with the killer finish, rounding off a break involving Aaronson, Joseph and Firpo with a cool finish to wrap up the points.

Player ratings

Leeds United player ratings

Illan Meslier - 7; Jayden Bogle - 6, Joe Rodon - 6, Pascal Struijk - 7, Junior Firpo - 7; Ethan Ampadu - 6, Ilia Gruev - 7; Manor Solomon - 8, Brenden Aaronson - 7, Willy Gnonto - 7; Mateo Joseph - 8.

Subs: Joe Rothwell - n/a, Joel Piroe - 7, Largie Ramazani - 6, Sam Byram - 5, Ao Tanaka - n/a. Not used: Karl Darlow, Joe Gelhardt, James Debayo, Max Wober.

Hull City player ratings

Championship table

Leeds move into fourth on eight points after four games, whilst winless Hull are in 19th on three points.

Tim Walter on Hull City's wait for a win

Hull have started the season with three draws and a defeat in the Championship, whilst they also lost to Sheffield Wednesday in the Carabao Cup.

Tim Walter's stint in-charge of the Tigers is, therefore, winless, with the German quizzed on how much his side need a win to kickstart their campaign.

"Everybody needs a first victory. I haven't had such situations," Walter explained post-match.

"We were close, but in the end, quality is most decisive and that's what we saw today.

"They (the players) are still working and that's what we have to do. We keep working for the first win because we have a long, long, long season.

"It's just the beginning, and it's not about mentality or anything like that. The boys are good and have a good working attitude to win all the time, but we need a bit of luck to win in the end."

Daniel Farke explains Manor Solomon selection

Manor Solomon and Largie Ramazani were competing for a place in Daniel Farke's starting line-up this afternoon, with Daniel James missing through a hamstring injury that will keep him out of Wales international duty next week, as per the BBC.

James' replacement was Solomon, with Farke citing that it was an easy decision to go with his Tottenham loanee given his experience in English football compared to others in his squad.

The Leeds boss explained in his post-match press conference: "I have to keep in mind that we had four new signings (in the last week). Not one of them has played a minute in the Championship before or any minutes in British senior football (beyond Solomon). This is one of the heaviest shirts in an unbelievably tough league.

"The only one who has experience in England is Manor Solomon. He has this experience at a higher level, Premier League level. He has shown a lot during his Fulham spell. It was difficult last season due to an injury, but he played four pre-season games with Tottenham, so he was a little bit in his rhythm. For that, we got the feeling that it was easiest for him to handle the expectations and be straightaway in the starting line-up.

"I was sure that he could deliver with his experience a good performance, which he did. He was crucial with a perfect assist before the first goal. He also looked sharp during training, and it was an easy decision."