There is much to discuss after a gruelling 0-0 draw at home to Middlesbrough last night. Without doubt the most physical side in the division came and did what we knew they would, and we matched it. Balls were launched into the Leeds United area and were dealt with time and time again. Going forward BielsaBall was stopped in its tracks by the Pulis way.
Player Ratings
Baily Peacock-Farrell – 8 – A very good performance. After Marco Silvestri and Felix Wiedwald Leeds fans have every right to be nervous about balls into the box, but not any more. Strong and commanding. Also pulled off a good save from Jonny Howson.
Luke Ayling – 7 – The defence was very good in the main last night. The weak link was Liam Cooper, down the flanks we were solid. Ayling had a great game, and was at war with Ayala again at set-pieces.
Gaetano Berardi – 8 – You know the side has been in the wars when Gaetano Berardi is forced off with an injury. He could barely stand up but carried on before being forced off by his worried team mates and medical staff. Jogged off despite the physio trying to stop him before leaving the ground on crutches.
Liam Cooper – 5 – I thought Cooper had a poor game in many areas. Balls into the box he did well but he kept trying the long ball, from the start. On top of that he collided with Samu Saiz and then Barry Douglas, something you can’t have in games like this. The first almost cost a goal. In my eyes Jansson should never have been dropped. Assombalonga wound him up second half and he began to give away daft fouls.
Barry Douglas – 7 – What I really liked about Douglas was that he didn’t shy away with the big tackles. A cruncher in the second half led to him being booked but reminded Boro that we weren’t getting rolled over anytime soon. Brilliant from dead balls.
Kalvin Phillips – 8 – #T72MOM – In terms of standing up and facing Boro head on nobody optimised it better than Kalvin Phillips. Strong and at times the lone ranger against Besic, Clayton and Howson. The way we play means Klich and Saiz roam all over. Phillips was immense off the ball last night.
Mateusz Klich – 7 – Didn’t have the wow factor last night but I’d be interested to know how much ground he covered. Was everywhere, corner to corner and box to box. Deserves all the praise he is currently getting.
Samu Saiz – 5 – Really struggled to make things happen and tried and tried but wasn’t his night. Always an option but often chose the wrong one when he came to his decision. A frustrating night for the player, he missed Hernandez massively.
Jack Harrison – 7 – His most interesting and without doubt best performance so far in a Leeds shirt. Got at George Friend who struggled. Great feet and worked the wing well. Impressed the home crowd.
Gjanni Alioski – 6 – Really struggled to have any influence going forward, Ryan Shotton did bully him at times. Worked hard going the other way but it was in this area we didn’t have any impact on the game.
Kemar Roofe – 6 – Worked so hard for the team but through no fault of his own he had no impact on the game in the final third. Chances weren’t coming from anywhere. Put a shift in for the side though.
Subs
N/A
