Ao Tanaka does himself no favours at Leeds United with antics vs Liverpool

Ao Tanaka continued his Leeds United struggles against Liverpool on Sunday night.

The Japan international had been one of the Whites' best players as they were promoted to the Premier League.

He was a true Rolls Royce in the Championship and appeared ready to perform at the top level moving up a division.

Things haven't played out that way and the 27-year-old has almost become a second thought for Daniel Farke.

That isn't to say that the midfielder has totally helped himself with his performances.

Tanaka has had some frustrating moments recently, and that continued in the 4-2 win against Liverpool.

How did Ao Tanaka perform vs Liverpool?

The Yorkshire outfit brought the curtain down on their US tour with a friendly at Soldier Field.

They faced Andoni Iraola's side at Soldier Field, Chicago and secured a 4-2 win.

Farke saw his side come from two down to take victory in excellent fashion thanks to goals from Brenden Aaronson, Sean Longstaff and Dominic Calvert-Lewin.

The Whites didn't get help from Tanaka as he was removed at half time while 2-0 behind.

He misplaced four passes and failed to create a single chance or take a touch in the Liverpool box.

With just one pass into the final third and a zero per cent long ball accuracy, it's clear that he didn't impact the game.

The antics that Farke won't appreciate is that Tanaka was caught on the ball after holding onto it for too long multiple times.

When that wasn't happening, he seemed to be rushing and was then forced to make up for that with his three defensive actions.

That didn't help him in the duel as he also lost two while committing one foul in the first half.

The Japanese midfielder hasn't done himself any favours and may now face an uncertain future.

Could Tanaka leave Leeds United?

There have long been questions over whether the 1998-born ace could depart Elland Road.

That has even seen Tanaka speak out over a potential LS11 exit, as covered by MOT Leeds News.

In May, he said: "There were transfer talks in winter, and I thought about leaving, but I still wanted to play in the Premier League."

The transfer talk was only echoed by The Athletic in June who suggested that a "significant" offer could be enough for Leeds to sell the midfielder.

There has been interest from Freiburg and Schalke, but there hasn't been any strong links recently.

That could soon change after this Liverpool performance as he once again struggled to impose himself for Leeds.