Leeds march on after Luis Sinisterra stunner - Mail 24/8/22

Leeds 3-1 Barnsley: Jesse Marsch's side march on into the Carabao Cup third round after a Luis Sinisterra stunner and Mateusz Klich's brace proves to be too much for the Tykes

The hosts got off to a good start with summer signing Luis Sinisterra scoring

Mateusz Klich doubled the lead 11 minutes later for Leeds from the penalty spot

However, it didn't take long for Barnsley to respond through Mads Andersen

Barnsley had the chance to make it 2-2 but Callum Styles' penalty was saved

Klich then restored Leeds' two-goal lead on the night before the hour-mark

By DAVID COVERDALE

A month ago, Leeds fans were mourning the departure of one South American winger. On Wednesday night, they were celebrating the arrival of another.

Many Whites supporters feared the worst when their Brazilian star Raphinha was sold to Barcelona earlier in the summer. Yet the 23-year-old Colombian they brought in as his replacement, Luis Sinisterra, made an immediate impact on his first start for his new club.

The £21million signing from Feyenoord missed Leeds’ opening three Premier League games after suffering a hamstring injury in pre-season. But he scored a stunner just 21 minutes into his full debut on Wednesday night, then made Mateusz Klich’s two goals before going off to a standing ovation after an hour.

Sinisterra played an instrumental role in Feyenoord’s run to the Europa Conference League final last season, netting 23 times in all competitions.

Based on this evidence, he could play just as big a part for Leeds in this cup competition as well as the Premier League, where he will be in contention to face Brighton on Saturday.

‘We are very happy he was able to get his reward after his injury,’ said Leeds assistant manager Rene Maric. ‘He showed glimpses of a very, very high potential but there is a lot more to come from him.

‘He has a big variety of tools. He’s strong, he can hold up the ball, he’s fast, he’s smart, he can dribble and he can find a shot or the last pass. He is in the competition for places, for sure.’

Sinisterra settled some early nerves at a sold-out Elland Road when he picked up a loose ball in space, jinked past Callum Styles and curled past Barnsley goalkeeper Jack Walton from 25 yards.

Then, in the 32nd minute, his mazy run led to him being fouled in the box by Conor McCarthy and Klich sent Walton the wrong way with his penalty.

Barnsley, who are 57 places behind their Yorkshire rivals in the league ladder, pulled a goal back three minutes later when Josh Benson knocked a free-kick into the box and skipper Mads Andersen planted his free header past Illan Meslier.

The League One side blew a golden chance to level three minutes before half-time when Adam Forshaw gave away a penalty with a push on Styles, who struck his spot-kick against the post.

They were made to pay for that miss in the 56th minute when Sinisterra centred from the left and Liam Kitching cleared straight to Klich, who coolly finished from 15 yards to seal Leeds’ place in the third round.

‘Ultimately, we’ve come undone by a couple of bits of Premier League quality and a couple of refereeing decisions,’ moaned Barnsley boss Michael Duff.