How Jaka Bijol 'redeemed himself' as national media react to Leeds star's display for Slovenia

Jaka Bijol has had an up-and-down spell away from Leeds United with Slovenia.

The international break has already seen the centre-back feature in two Nations League clashes.

First up was Scotland in an outing which ended goalless, followed by a clash with North Macedonia on Tuesday.

This time around, the 27-year-old played a part in a 2-0 victory at Stadion Stozice.

The Leeds man started at the heart of defence and was able to keep a clean sheet with Jan Oblak behind him.

That didn't completely satisfy the locals as we assess how the media reacted to Bijol's showing.

What has been said about Jaka Bijol vs North Macedonia?

After the success of his debut campaign, the 1999-born ace may have hoped for better this time around.

He has made just two Premier League starts as the introduction of Tarik Muharemovic and Nico Elvedi have hampered his opportunities.

The international break probably came at a good time as he looked to prove a point to Daniel Farke

Bijol did manage to keep a clean sheet, but there were some flaws to his game.

One was picked up by local outlet Rtvslo, who wrote: "In the sixth minute, things were hot in front of Jan Oblak's goal. The ball was poorly cleared by Bijol in the penalty area. It reached Elezij, who launched a diagonal shot."

The only saving grace was that the Leeds man actually blocked the effort as the news outlet say, he "redeemed himself".

There were some slightly more positive affirmations from another outlet as Delo were largely happy with his showing.

They said: "The most expensive Slovenian defender did not need a show for the Premier League catalogue. When necessary, he stood where a central defender should stand and held the back row together.

"Almost without work in the first half, but in the most restless minutes of the second, he and his colleagues had to show more. Without a great show, but also without a big mistake."

The bigger question in all this is about how he actually performed across his 90 minute outing.

The stats behind Bijol in Slovenia vs North Macedonia

He may have struggled for consistent minutes at Elland Road, but looked solid for his country.

Bijol put up the most defensive actions on the pitch with 11, including eight clearances and two blocks.

That was added to by five duels and three recoveries as he showcased what he can do.

The Leeds man didn't show much going forward, but did maintain a 90 per cent pass accuracy across his 50 attempts.

It will be interesting to see how Farke reacts to this sort of performance and what that means for his future in LS11.