Leeds United 2-1 Valencia: Do what you want

Against Valencia, Georginio Rutter scored what must be the best pointless goal scored at Elland Road since Eric Cantona made it 3-0 against Chelsea in April 1992. If you want to dispute that we can narrow it down, to 'by a French player', because Pierre Laurent never did anything like this.

That Cantona goal typified his contribution to Leeds, a shot of champagne on top of a hard-working, title-winning Howard Wilkinson win. I call it pointless because Leeds were winning 1-0 when Cantona replaced Rod Wallace for the last five minutes, a lead that was soon doubled by Lee Chapman — after Cantona almost messed up the chance — and the third didn't alter the result, or the goal difference in any way that mattered. And I call it joyful because Cantona took the ball from a throw-in down the right, brought it under control without even touching it, put defender Paul Elliott through a full rotation by flicking the ball over his head into the penalty area, flicked it again around Elliott the other way, then after letting it bounce, kicked Mitre's well-sewn case off the Delta as he volleyed it on the smash into the far top corner. He went running to the crowd that was singing his name; elated chairman Leslie Silver prepared to part with a million to buy this loanee; captain Gordon Strachan, who Cantona had told how to take the throw-in and had watched every move of him from there, said it was as good as any goal he'd seen. The replays of it on television were never ending. When YouTube and social media were invented, the replays began there, too. That for sport it didn't really matter didn't matter. This was for play.

Did someone say play? Enter Georginio Rutter. Once upon a time I interviewed David Batty and asked him about spending a pre-season afternoon winding up Sampdoria players in 1992. "It was only a friendly, wasn't it?" he said. "So you could do what you wanted." Rutter was warned by Daniel Farke last season that there was a line between skilful play and embarrassing people that he shouldn't cross in league football, but in a friendly? Was anyone going to tell Rutter not to have fun in a friendly? Especially when, in this phase of Rutter, possibly a refinement now he's 22 and beginning his second Championship season, the fun he's having is not for effect, but effective.

About this goal, then. Counter-pressing never looked so fun. Ethan Ampadu's pass was intercepted by a defender but their first touch was intercepted by Rutter, who took the ball into the big space behind them where there was one defender, one goalkeeper, the penalty area and the goal. Running into the box, he could have shot past the defender's sliding block and it's not clear whether Rutter always meant to feint or saw the tackle coming and changed his plan - he didn't chop the ball to his other foot like he normally would for a fake-out but pulled his left shooting foot back and let it roll as if making a quick choice to pause and see what happens next. What happens next is that while the defender slides to a halt in front of him, Rutter puts that left boot over the ball to slow it down and roll it around his opponent into an empty patch of grass, and with the goalie rushing out towards him Rutter adjusts his feet with a step that improves his position and fools that goalie, then does something that's not unthinkable but only thinkable if you're really good at football and able to think fast: almost from standing now, he chips the ball up, over and across the 'keeper so that it dips just over the covering defenders and just under the bar.

It's brilliant. And it's not just good and wild, but good and clever. It's too easy and too patronising to look at Rutter's unorthodox movements and unplanned brilliance and think he's some thoughtless pup playing off the cuff without any real idea of what he's doing beyond fun and vibes. What makes Rutter a brilliant player is the speed with which his body expresses his intelligence. I've gone through the video of this goal frame by frame trying to spot the moments when his brain is diverting from shooting to feinting, then to chipping, but it's impossible to find them because there isn't time. The nearest I can get is that one pause before the chip and it's a sublime moment, when a quarter of a second after he was about to rocket a shot from fifteen yards Rutter's brain and skill have changed the situation and processed the new one and come up with an answer, an answer that needs a pause - the step to put the goalie nearer to the ground and make the chip possible - and then needs exquisite control. To watch a player processing and executing this way is like watching someone inventing a calculator.

Rutter was on this level all game, beating two players and trying to score at the near post before immediately looking to the South Stand to see if they'd enjoyed it; putting dinky chips into the penalty area like Pablo Hernandez used to; drilling passes across the field, passes that sway; flicking the ball over defenders; taking the ball and forcing his way around tackles as he runs down the wing from halfway to the goal line. He made the opening goal for Mateo Joseph, too, flicking the ball to Junior Firpo, then when it comes back, pushing it through the defence with a little deft cushioning. In the box, Mateo Joseph was as thoughtful as Rutter; not feeling the first chance to shoot, he took his time about moving the ball to a better place where it was easier to slot it into the bottom corner. Let's bring out the cliches about good players slowing the game down and making things look easy: Leeds have got a couple of good players, here.

Rutter plays with a purpose, has fun with an aim. That doesn't mean the fun 'n' play aren't important. In fact, they might be vital. As well as enjoying himself on the pitch against Valencia, Rutter released a sixteen minute YouTube documentary over the weekend, in which he reflects on his career so far. A reminder: he's 22 years old, so in a way there's not much to reflect on or much distance from it to refine the lessons. But watching it, I was struck by the number of photos from every stage of his career, from school to the Premier League, Rutter was able to include; he's a product of his generation, encouraged by phone cameras and social media into curating self-commentary on his life while he's living it, to treat every lived moment as something for the feed or the story or the self-made documentary. Not everyone uses this as a way of actually looking, really looking, into the mirror, but Rutter speaks about the good and bad of his career as if he's aware of the part his emotions play, that events aren't just things that happen, but things he feels. And that he plays better in a good mood. Doesn't everybody? Sure. But I don't know if everybody likes to think of themselves that way: sportspeople, in particular, are supposed to be stoic, to persevere.

Fun is not frivolous, or unserious. It's an ideal method for removing the sort of stress we saw gripping Leeds at the end of last season and dragging them away from the Premier League. The longer you can make playing the games feel like a good time, the more likely you are to get the best out of the players. Who could look at a team with Rutter, Joseph and Wilf Gnonto up front and tell them to be staunch? Well, based on last season, Daniel Farke. But as we've been watching Ilia Gruev bursting into the box this pre-season, with Ampadu dropping back to let Firpo and Jayden Bogle join the attack, there have been hopeful signs of a more attacking emphasis. This was only a friendly and you could do what you liked, and some of the Valencia players didn't like any of it, with Ampadu reprising the Batty wind-up role while the visitors melted down like Sampdoria '92. But that freedom brought the best out of Rutter and Joseph, the latter of whom is the embodiment of the current pop phrase 'let him cook': after the way his last few weeks have gone, just start him up front against Portsmouth and let him do his thing.

And Rutter doesn't need calming down, or to hide his skills to save the face of others. At this level, a famous teamtalk from over the Pennines applies to Rutter: 'Lads, it's Tottenham'. Georgi, it's the Champo. Yes teams need structure, and yes squads need depth, and yes Leeds need to buy more players, and yes Daniel Farke should be a valuable brake on his young players' excesses, the person to channel the energy into meaningful games and meaningful promotion. But sometimes you have to look at the players in the team and think that a little bit of Kevin Keegan's Newcastle wouldn't do any harm. Last season Farke set a target of 75 goals, and even without any from midfield Leeds scored 81. Why be conservative about the coming campaign? Lads, it's only the Champo, and you can - you have the ability to - do what you want. Score 100, and make them as fun as you like. ⭑彡