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Patrick Bamford in 2/10 stinker as duo 3/10 - Leeds United player ratings v Stoke
Leeds United were handed a 1-0 defeat away at Stoke City in their second loss in 11 Championship matches after a Pascal Struijk own goal.
Daniel Farke’s side played out a tough first half away at Stoke and struggled to make many chances against Alex Neil’s determined defence. The Whites slowly warmed into the second half, but showed their best attacking threat too late in the game.
The centre-back’s unfortunate own goal was the difference maker with Fakre heading back to Yorkshire with a rare defeat.
MOT Leeds News rated the players out of 10 below…
Illan Meslier – 6
The Frenchman made some crucial saves in the first half, but the majority of Stoke’s attempts were right at him. He has to remain vigilant against an often shaky-looking defence, but as his side grew into the match in the second half, he was much less active. With three saves and 0.74 goals prevented, he couldn’t do much more [SofaScore].
Sam Byram – 6
Byram made some decent passes up the field, but his efforts were blunted by the lack of penetration in the attack. He often struggled to keep possession and lost the ball a few times in dangerous areas, but luckily for him, Stoke had little in the way of an attacking threat either for most of the game.
Pascal Struijk – 5
The Dutchman saved a heart-in-mouth moment in the first half when the ball slowly rolled into Meslier’s net, but Struijk handled himself well and there was very little he could do about the own goal. The strength of some of Neil’s men sometimes caused him problems, but similar to Byram, his frequent attempts to get the ball away and ease pressure were hurt by a lack of penetration. Struijk did lose possession more times than he’d like (14), but mostly assured.
Joe Rodon – 5
While Stoke did not offer a lot in terms of attack, Rodon often slowed the game down and ensured possession was kept. He looked shaky at the back in moments and most of the defence was suspect when the ball nearly rolled into the back of the net, but with 97 per cent passing accuracy, he will not be Farke’s biggest headache.
Archie Gray – 4
Farke has persisted with Gray at right-back and it will start to frustrate the fans. He looked unassured against against the Potters, losing the ball 19 times. He got plenty of the ball with 67 touches but struggled to do anything meaningful with it. Farke should consider his position before the next game.
Ilia Gruev – 5
While not exactly a debut to remember, the Bulgarian international was certainly not the worst player on the pitch. His 83 per cent passing accuracy showed he could handle it in the midfield. Stoke were not targeting Gruev’s area so they failed to expose any weaknesses, but considering the loss, he could have made a better impression on his first start.
Jaidon Anthony – 5
Of Leeds’ attacking line, Anthony perhaps offered the most. Stoke did well to blunt their attacks, but the Bournemouth loanee attempted to create some chances and whip balls into the box. He made two key passes, a rare encouraging side from the Whites, but had no cutting edge with just 0.03 expected goals.
Joe Piroe – 3
A lack of involvement is again the ghost that haunts the Dutchman. He made one key pass and attempted to string moves together, but he looked lost in the half spaces and offered his fellow players very little. With only two shots attempted and one big chance missed, Farke will have been very frustrated by his performance.
Willy Gnonto – 3
A night to forget for the Italian. Farke hauled him off in the closing 20 minutes for good reason. The best he offered was a few good runs, and to a certain extent his teammates’ struggles did help him, but with only 13 passes, zero shots on targets, 0.02 expected goals and zero successful dribbles, Farke may consider dropping him.
Georginio Rutter – 5
The Frenchman has his moments in the and struggled to have more than two touches at a time. He looked the most likely to score from any of Farke’s men with five total attempts and four dribbles, but the lack of a clear-cut opportunity let him down.
Substitutes
Crysencio Summerville – 7
He missed a good chance towards the end but did enough to show Farke why he should have got the start in this one.
Daniel James – 5
Looked bright for moments but it was all a little too late. His speed and agility would have been useful, b
Patrick Bamford – 2
His missed penalty unfortunately cost Leeds the game. Coming back from injury, the Englishman will need support after this mistake and will hope to be afforded another chance soon, but he will struggle to forget it.
Luke Ayling – N/A
Ian Poveda – N/A
In other Leeds United news, a BBC pundit has made a “ridiculous” admission amid the Whites’ promotion chances this season.