Mark Smith

Sat 4 July 2020 17:41, UK

Leeds United went into their clash with Blackburn Rovers knowing it was a must-win match after their 1-1 draw with Luton on Tuesday evening.

It was a whirlwind opening 20 minutes at Ewood Park, with Patrick Bamford opening the scoring after Mateusz Klich won back possession in the final third.

Marcelo Bielsa’s men were lucky to get out of that opening spell without conceding with the home side squandering many clear cut chances.

Leeds went into the break two goals to the good though, punishing Blackburn with Kalvin Phillips expertly firing in a free-kick into the top corner – our first goal directly from a freekick since Burton Albion away in 2017.

It was a shocking start to the second-half for Leeds though. Similar to Phillips, Adam Armstrong curled in a great freekick almost immediately after the break to half the deficit.

Normality was resumed minutes later though. Klich was the one to find the back of the net, curling an effort into the bottom corner although Christian Walton would have wanted to do better.

Leeds extended their gap at the top of the Championship back to four points over West Brom, who play on Sunday against Hull City.

Here are our MOT Leeds News player ratings from the 3-1 win…

Illan Meslier – 6

Another afternoon where the Frenchman will be questioning what he has to do to keep a clean sheet. Despite not having to make many saves, Meslier left Lancashire without another shutout. The youngster’s distribution wasn’t as good as we’ve seen and he often put his side under unwarranted pressure.

Luke Ayling – 7

When Ayling is on top form, he is a wingers’ nightmare. Not only is he solid in defence, but he is one of the best-attacking wing-backs in the Championship. Ayling tormented the Rovers left-hand side and overlapped Harrison to great effect.

Ben White – 8

Armstrong is one of the Championship’s trickiest forwards with his size, speed and agility, and White pocketed him for the majority of the game. The Brighton loanee was caught out once in the opening minutes and made sure that it didn’t happen again for the rest of the game.

Liam Cooper – 9

The definition of a man mountain. Cooper can’t have been at 100% after being taken off against Luton, but he was everywhere on Saturday. His battle with Sam Gallagher was key in the win, and he pocketed the forward who has caused problems for many defenders this season.

Barry Douglas – 7

It was a big afternoon for Douglas who was somewhat surprisingly handed a start. The Scotsman did his job well and made no mistakes which is what Bielsa will have demanded from one of his most experienced defenders.

Kalvin Phillips – 8

Phillips needed to cut out the mistakes from his game after the restart, and Saturday saw that happen. His freekick was sublime, and he got his rewards for what was a performance where the Yorkshire Pirlo was back to his best in each third of the pitch.

Mateusz Klich – 7

It was much better from the Polish international on Saturday. His role in the first goal was exactly what Leeds have been missing from in midfield and he was back to his best defensively. Going forward was a different story for the majority of the game, but he got his reward when finishing well from the edge of the box in the second half.

Jack Harrison – 5

Probably one of Harrison’s least memorable games in a Leeds shirt. The Manchester City loanee often got one on one with Stewart Downing, but rarely took the ball past him despite him being a makeshift defender.

Ezgjan Alioski – 6

Alioski has been one of the standout figures after the Championship restart, but he wasn’t at his best when in from the start. It was an average afternoon for the Macedonian, who had plenty of opportunities to find the back of the net if he had read the game better at the back post, but he did enough.

Tyler Roberts – 6

Roberts didn’t catch the eye massively on Saturday, but he certainly made enough of an impact in the final third. The Welshman was unfortunate to be taken off, but the defensive aspect of his game certainly needs work if Bielsa wants to use him as a playmaker frequently.

Patrick Bamford – 7

After criticism on Tuesday, the early goal at Ewood Park is exactly what the doctor ordered. It was a great finish too with Bamford coming onto the ball straight rather than on an angle. What impressed us more though was his work off the ball, the 26-year-old was back to his best causing constant problems for the Rovers’ defence.

In other Leeds United news, BBC journalist details reasoning behind Helder Costa absence v Blackburn