Leeds United shot up to joint-top of the table thanks to Watford keeper Dan Bachmann's pair of blunders, with Daniel Farke’s squad soaring to a 2-0 lead in just seven minutes. It marked Leeds' fastest march to a two-goal advantage in a league game since Mark Viduka stunned West Ham with an early brace on New Year’s Day in 2002.
Bachmann was left red-faced and might have felt like he was shaking off a New Year’s Eve hangover during the match. The scene unfolded without warning when Largie Ramazani unleashed a right-footer from the penalty area's left corner at the four-minute mark.
Despite being at a comfortable height, the Austrian international keeper inexplicably fumbled the head-height shot. His scramble to salvage the mistake proved futile as the ball crossed the line.
Yet, his woes were far from over. Leeds’ Willy Gnonto showed intent with a narrowly missed strike, signalling Leeds’ attacking mindset.
Bachmann faced further humiliation when Gnonto whipped in a cross from the right, only for the Watford goalkeeper to meekly palm it directly into the path of Brenden Aaronson, who wrapped up the gift on his 24th birthday. The mocking chants from Leeds fans rang out towards Bachmann: "Two nil, it's your keeper's fault! ", reports the Mirror.
After suffering a thigh injury in Saturday's 3-0 defeat at Luton, he had to pass a fitness test yesterday. However, Watford manager Tom Cleverley insisted: "Those ones [mistakes] tonight were nothing to do with his fitness. They were just two freak mistakes that you don't normally see from Dan. He's one of the best shot-stoppers in the league.
"He's won us a lot more points than he's lost. We have full faith in Dan. But tonight wasn't his evening. I've been brought up where it's difficult to be too positive about defeat - but this performance was like chalk and cheese compared to Saturday."
