On-loan Leeds winger Ian Poveda looked electric as Championship side Blackpool absolutely thrashed Premier League opposition Nottingham Forest 4-1 in the FA Cup Third Round.
“Premier League? You’re having a laugh!” rang loudly among the home fans at Bloomfield Road as Blackpool outplayed Nottingham Forest in every area of the pitch to advance into the fourth round of the FA Cup.
While the story of a struggling Championship side embarrassing Premier League opposition will steal the headlines, a key sub-plot in the game was the performance of the Leeds United winger Ian Poveda, who is currently on loan at Michael Appleton’s Blackpool side.
Poveda, 22, netted the second goal of the game to give the home side a crucial 2-0 lead at a point in the match where it looked like Forest may work their way back into the contest.
Blackpool substitute Jerry Yates pounced on a miscalculated back pass from former Liverpool defender Neco Williams, before playing the ball into Poveda, who’s good first touch set him up for a simple finish to mark his first goal of the 2022-23 season. It was clear just how much the goal meant to Poveda, who picked up a yellow card for removing his shirt during the celebrations.
Later in the game, Poveda returned the favour to Yates, as his corner caught out a sleeping Forest defense to set the forward up to make it 4-0 to the Seasiders. Forest picked up a late goal to make it 4-1, but it amounted to nothing more than a mere consolation.
Leeds fans will be hopeful that this performance can kickstart a good run of form for Poveda. He was thought to be well-rated by previous boss Marcelo Bielsa, though consecutive seasons on loan has meant that he is rarely at the forefront of a Leeds fan’s mind.
When Poveda played in the Leeds shirt, he would be lauded for always trying to get on the ball, though questions loomed about whether or not he had the physicality to forge a career in the top flight of English football. While that remains to be seen, we definitely won’t complain about seeing the winger perform like he did today, and hopefully he can carry that forward in a Blackpool side that will be fighting to avoid a relegation battle.
For more coverage of Leeds United players out on loan, read our piece on Lewis Bate here.