How Leeds defender Jaka Bijol performed in Slovenia's draw vs Scotland

Jaka Bijol made his first competitive appearance since Leeds United's 6-3 Carabao Cup defeat to Chelsea in Slovenia's 0-0 draw with Scotland on Saturday.

Bijol, 27, was left on the bench for Leeds' win over Newcastle on 14 September and for the 0-0 draw against Crystal Palace last week after his role in the hefty defeat at Stamford Bridge.

Before that loss at Chelsea, Bijol had played in all three of Leeds' Premier League fixtures, but it seems that he's now out of the picture for Daniel Farke.

However, the ex-Udinese centre-back is still one of the first names on the teamsheet for the Slovenia national team, having started and completed 90 minutes of their Nations League draw with Scotland.

But how could his performance in Ljubljana affect Farke's stance on him?

Jaka Bijol's stats vs Scotland

Bijol was vital to Slovenia keeping a clean sheet against Scotland.

Although the Tartan Army were woeful in the first half, after the break, Sebastien Pocognoli managed to get his side playing some good football and creating plenty of chances.

There's no doubt that goalkeeper Jan Oblak was Slovenia's best player, but Bijol also staked his claim for the man of the match award.

As per stats by Sofascore, Bijol completed the one tackle that he challenged for, completed two interceptions and made eight clearances.

He also blocked three shots, won one of the two ground duels he was involved in, won 50 per cent of his six aerial duels and made one last man tackle.

While he was dribbled past once and had a pass accuracy of just 81 per cent, Bijol's defensive contributions played a huge role in a big point for Slovenia, who only mustered 0.47 xG compared to Scotland's 1.94.

What does this mean for Bijol at Leeds?

Bijol's performance against Scotland is no doubt good news for Farke.

He completed 90 minutes, he didn't get injured, he played very well and contributed massively towards a clean sheet.

Once the international break is over, Bijol might be disappointed to see if he doesn't feature back in Farke's plans, at least as a substitute.

Slovenia still have to play North Macedonia, Switzerland and Scotland again in this international break, so there are more chances for Bijol to sway Farke's decision once the domestic football returns in October.

But, ultimately, with Leeds doing well in the Premier League, Farke is still unlikely to change his starting line-up to include Bijol just because he did well for Slovenia.

He might, however, show Farke that he shouldn't judge him solely on that display against Chelsea, and there's plenty more to come from him.