Having missed the defeat to Middlesbrough, Luke Freeman returned to the Queens Park Rangers side to superlative effect.

Leeds United were the visitors to Loftus Road last night but came unstuck thanks to a goal from the 26-year-old after 49 minutes.

Freeman had to be forced off and leave the Hoops playing with ten men in the defeat to West Bromwich Albion a week ago, but having had time out to recover last weekend, he returned on Tuesday evening.

After 86 minutes played upon his return, the midfielder was given a thunderous ovation when taken off and replaced with Josh Scowen.

The win ended a run of seven successive league defeats for Steve McClaren’s men as they moved 12 points clear of the Championship relegation places.

And that was all down to the involvement of Freeman throughout the win over Leeds:

Playing on the left of a four-man midfield, Freeman managed to have five shots on goal – a match-high, with two off target, and two blocked.

His only shot on target ended up in the back of the net – that was one of his 64 touches of the ball, which was average in terms of both teams, but one of the highest for the Hoops.

26 passes were attempted with 16 being completed – Freeman managed two key passes, too, as he totalled a 61.5 per cent pass success rate.

He was at the heart of everything positive for McClaren’s men and completed the most dribbles in the game – and three more than any Leeds player.

Six were attempted in his 86 minutes on the pitch, completing four of those.

Defensively, too, he made a contribution winning 100 per cent of the tackles he went for - it may have only been three, but they were small victories that added up to their positive result at full time.

Freeman’s strike was invaluable to stopping the club’s disgusting run of form, and the win could catalyse the rest of season as they look to improve from here on in.