Best way to shut them up is to score – Calvert-Lewin

Hearing the Wolves fans turn their ire on the club’s owners during Leeds’ 3-1 win at Molineux must have been music to Dominic Calvert-Lewin’s ears.

The former Everton striker had been subjected to taunts from the home supporters in the build-up to Saturday’s game, which had been billed by many as an early-season six-pointer between two struggling sides.

Wolves had lost their first four games of a campaign for the first time in 127 years while Leeds had failed to score from open play since Lukas Nmecha’s winning penalty against Everton on 18 August.

Calvert-Lewin and his team-mates may have been fearing the worst when Ladislav Krejci opened the scoring with only eight minutes on the clock but by full-time the visitors were celebrating a first away win of the season – and their first on the road in the top flight since a 4-2 win at Molineux in March 2023.

Calvert-Lewin was the catalyst for Leeds’ revival, opening his account for the club with a brilliant header from Jayden Bogle’s cross before winning the free-kick from which Anton Stach completed the turnaround.

Noah Okafor added a third late in the first half as the home fans turned their anger on chairman Jeff Shi and Chinese owners Fosun.

“I think they had a chant going [about me],” Calvert-Lewin told BBC Match of the Day. “I heard my name and I thought, ‘Why are they singing my name?’

“Obviously, the best way to shut them up is to score a goal at that end and point to my shirt.

Calvert-Lewin hasn’t had the easiest start to his Leeds career.

In last month’s Carabao Cup second-round tie at Sheffield Wednesday, the 28-year-old spurned a glorious opportunity to score a stoppage-time winner before missing his penalty in the subsequent shootout, launching his effort high over the bar as the Owls progressed.

Toothless displays against Newcastle and Fulham followed but his fantastic header at Molineux was the ideal response to fans and pundits who have been questioning his form and fitness record.

According to Transfermarkt, Calvert-Lewin has missed nearly 600 days through injury since the 2018-19 season, including the majority of the second half of last term after suffering a hamstring injury in an away game at Brighton back in January.

He ended his final season at Everton on three Premier League goals but Leeds boss Daniel Farke is confident the striker can rediscover his scoring touch at Elland Road this season.

“We know what Dominic Calvert-Lewin is capable of doing for us,” the German told BBC Match of the Day. “He’s outstanding with his head. It was a fantastic header.”

Speaking on Final Score during Saturday’s game, former Manchester United and Aston Villa striker Dion Dublin was particularly impressed with the way Calvert-Lewin executed his equaliser, describing it as a “very difficult header”.

“As [Bogle’s] cross comes in, it takes a deflection that lifts it high over the defender. [Calvert-Lewin] has to put direction and pace on it.

Other clear-cut openings may have been in short supply but there was no faulting Calvert-Lewin’s effort at Molineux.

The striker was involved all over the pitch, with one of his few touches inside the Wolves area resulting in Leeds’ equaliser.

Only Brenden Aaronson (47) registered more pressure than Calvert-Lewin (37), who clocked up more off-the-ball runs (29) and sprints (12) than any of his Leeds colleagues.

Reflecting on the win, Calvert-Lewin said: “It’s massive. We knew what we were capable of going into the game. [After] going 1-0 down, we showed great character to turn it around.

“We then had the confidence to play. The rest took care of itself.

“We should have taken the game to them a little more [in the second half]. I think we showed our resilience to be able to defend deep.