Mark Smith

Sun 12 January 2020 7:00, UK

It was yet another disappointing afternoon against Garry Monk on Saturday as Leeds United fell to a 2-0 defeat against Sheffield Wednesday.

Marcelo Bielsa decided to reintroduce Barry Douglas into the starting line-up for a Championship clash. He also welcomed back Pablo Hernandez and Jamie Shackleton to the bench.

Leeds missed a number of chances at Elland Road and should have been two goals to the good by half time – Jack Harrison and Helder Costa missing clear-cut opportunities.

In typical fashion, the Whites were punished. Jacob Murphy and Atdhe Nuhiu both scoring in the final 10 minutes to put the game to bed.

Here are our MOT Leeds News player ratings…

Kiko Casilla – 5

In all honesty, the Spaniard didn’t have much to do all afternoon. Casilla did look fragile when corners came into the box though, and being beaten at his front post for the first goal was simply nowhere near good enough.

Luke Ayling – 7

One of the few positives for Leeds. Ayling tried his best to forge openings down the right – consistently beating Adam Reach and looking for options in the final third. He was caught out of position for the second, but the Whites had to go for an equaliser.

Liam Cooper – 5

Three words – way too slow. Cooper was too reluctant on the ball for Leeds to ever get going properly. Bielsa’s men are at their best when Cooper and his defence knock the ball about quickly to create space and that didn’t happen on Saturday.

Ben White – 6

Tried his best to push Leeds forward, making a number of lung-busting runs on the ball. But, just like Cooper, when the ball got to his feet he was way too static at times – often looking for the pass after collecting possession.

Barry Douglas – 6

Was unfortunate to be taken off, but Leeds needed more pace in their side with Alioski. The Scotsman did the basics well and made a number of solid passes forward. Misplaced a simple ball through to Bamford that could have made the difference at 0-0.

Kalvin Phillips – 6

A strange afternoon for Phillips. Although he was solid enough in defence, he never seemed to find the pockets of space that allow his central defenders to pick him out once under pressure. Slowly went missing in the second half, something that can’t happen too often between now and the end of the season.

Stuart Dallas – 4

This was the game that proved Leeds are crying out for a midfielder. It isn’t Dallas’ fault that he has been asked to play there, but he is nowhere near good enough to feature in the heart of midfield. The Northern Ireland international simply just ran round the pitch for 90 minutes. He looked like a headless chicken at times, both in and out of possession.

Mateusz Klich – 5

Another average showing from Klich. His workrate against Arsenal was second-to-none, and on Saturday that went out of the window. He was asked to mark Barry Bannan by the looks of it, something that worked until the second half when he was dragged off midway through.

Jack Harrison – 7

The same old story for Harrison, once again being let down by his end product. He took a number of superb first touches out wide, but his goal involvement tally could be double what it already is this season. The winger missed a guilt-edged chance in the first-half which could have changed the outcome of the game.

Helder Costa – 4

Not good enough. Costa struggled at the Emirates after coming on and did the exact same against Wednesday. He missed a handful of chances, backed out of way too many challenges, and never got into the game.

Patrick Bamford – 7

Worryingly, Bamford looked dangerously isolated at times. Without Hernandez in behind, Leeds struggle, and the 26-year-old was doing a lot of hard work without the reward of being supported or finding the back of the net. Having said that, he should have scored at least twice on Saturday.

Substitutions

Pablo Hernandez – 7

Leeds are a better side with the Spaniard in it, simple. He got on the ball often and caused problems for the Owls.

Jordan Stevens – 5

His chance could have come too early. Stevens needs to work on his positioning in-and-around the senior squad as he often found himself in pointless spots.

Ezgjan Alioski – 6

Added pace and drive down the left, but ultimately no end product from the Macedonian.

In other Leeds United news, Midlands club join Leeds in hunt for PL striker who could be available this month