Patrick Bamford back at his best just in time to reignite Leeds' season

Patrick Bamford had 36 touches of the ball against Leicester at the King Power Stadium.

That's fewer than every other player who started and finished the 90 minutes.

And he was still the best player on the pitch by an absolute mile.

In a game where the home side desperately missed Jamie Vardy, Bamford's performance served as a solemn reminder of what they were missing. With his 11th Premier League goal of the season - a truly world-class finish from a tight angle - he matched the Leicester talisman's tally for the season, and capped off a performance that inspired his team to a huge win on the road.

In a game that lacked a consistent rhythm for the most part, the Leeds striker was isolated for long spells, but had the quality to make every touch count.

His first real involvement in the game saw him hold off Wesley Fofana and lay off Stuart Dallas for an equaliser, and that was a theme throughout as he got the better of almost every duel he found himself in with a Leicester centre-back - whether that was Fofana, Jonny Evans or Caglar Soyuncu.

Having not scored in any of the four matches leading up to this one, you could forgive Bamford if he was snatching at his chances. But there was none of that about it when he took Raphinha's glorious pass through on goal, settled himself, and crashed a left-footed effort across a despairing Kasper Schmeichel into the far top corner.

It was a finish worth as many second looks as you can give it - right into the top corner off the underside of the bar. A striker's dream.

To top it all off, what did he do the next time he was presented with a glorious chance to hit the back of the net?

Squared it off to his teammate, because he was in a better position.

Bamford had three real moments in the game, but each of them showed that his head is exactly where Leeds need it to be as they get set for a big few months. Industrious, clinical, and selfless, combining for one of the most complete individual performances you will see this year.

Leeds' tendency to burn out means they have much to prove in the second half of their first season back in the big time, but with the focal point of their attacks in this sort of form, they will back their chances to press on towards a comfortable top-half finish.