Leeds United: Junior Firpo makes 'full of tourists' claim as he compares Elland Road atmosphere

Firpo joined Leeds from Barcelona in July 2021, signing a four-year contract in West Yorkshire. He struck the decisive goal on Saturday afternoon as Leeds moved out of the Premier League relegation zone with a 1-0 win over Southampton.

It was the left-back’s first top-flight goal and ended a run of 10 Premier League games without a win ensured three points for new boss Javi Gracia in his first game in charge.

When asked before the win over Southampton if a sold-out Elland Road was better than a packed-out Nou Camp, Firpo told Football Daily: “A packed Elland Road. The Nou Camp is a really big stadium and it is 90,000 people and it is unbelievable.

"But usually there are more tourists than fans. They go there to watch the best players play and used to go to watch [Lionel] Messi play but here [at Leeds] it is totally different. There are 35,000 people and it is rocking all the time. This is what I love.”

Reflecting on the victory, Firpo told Leeds United’s YouTube channel the goal against Southampton was likely the biggest of his career given the context.

He said: “In the situation we are in right now, we showed again we do not deserve to be here. We were the better team and we got our win and happily I scored my goal.

"I think the biggest frustration was we created a lot of chances in the first half and didn’t score and we thought, as usual, it would be another game when we created a lot of chances but didn’t score.

"The fans were really good and after that we managed the game really well. It has been one of the toughest weeks of my career.

"It doesn’t matter we have a new manager or not, against Manchester United we did an amazing job and when played them at home we did an amazing job again. I think we are a team who are capable of winning every single game but having a new manager always gives you an extra boost.”