Joel Piroe stinks despite win – Leeds United player ratings v Swansea
Leeds United battled to a sensational 4-3 win against Swansea City in the Championship on Sunday.
Daniel Farke made some surprise calls on 24 November, dropping Willy Gnonto for Manor Solomon, who equalised for the Whites after Harry Darling opened the scoring early on.
Liam Cullen restored a lead for the home side before an own goal from Ben Cabango levelled things up again in South Wales.
It was Solomon who found the back of the net again before a wild few minutes saw Gnonto score the winner in added time, sending Leeds back to the top of the Championship.
MOT Leeds News has rated the players out of 10 below…
Illan Meslier – 4
Another afternoon where he simply wasn’t good enough. Meslier made zero saves of note and the second goal conceded trickled past him with more poor positioning – the fans are running out of patience.
Jayden Bogle – 7
A solid outing for Bogle, who is starting to see his defensive work catch up with his offensive output at the back for Leeds. A full-back staying under the radar is never bad as he went about his work effectively, with his lung-busting run forward in the second half summing up his game.
Joe Rodon – 6
The Welshman returned to his former club and will have been fuming with the conceded goals, while not being much he could have done for the first two. Having been blocked before the first one, he was left alone at the back for Cullen to somehow score past Meslier. The third goal was not good enough at the back as he lost his man, but it was a sensational delivery.
Pascal Struijk – 6
The skipper played a pivotal role in the first goal, winning the ball back and threading a sensational pass through the lines, but got himself tangled up when conceding the second.
Sam Byram – 7
While solid at the back, Leeds have suffered going forward when he is in the side over Junior Firpo at times. It was Byram who got forward into acres of space though to supply Solomon with the winner, great work and more like that is needed.
Ao Tanaka – 9
Another terrier-like performance in midfield, winning everything in those crucial areas with Swansea a side who like to keep the ball as much as Leeds. Tanaka was physical, hard in the tackle and recycled possession perfectly as others around him struggled.
Joe Rothwell – 6
With Swansea also liking to try and dominate possession, neither side could get hold of it for large spells, which is where Rothwell is at his best. He did plug away off the ball and was rarely beaten, as this midfield continues to go from makeshift to crucial.
Brenden Aaronson – 6
Despite buzzing around like his usual self, there was little impact from the American. Aaronson did suffer from illness during the international break and maybe it caught up with him in Storm Bert. However, he did battle hard and pressed well in the final third when needed.
Dan James and Manor Solomon win it for Leeds United
Dan James – 9
The winger missed a difficult chance early on as he returned to his former side, but everything after that was top-class. James used his pace superbly and technically takes away two identical assists for the Solomon strike and Cabango’s own-goal with his un-selfish play before setting up Gnonto at the death. Farke will be delighted with James.
Manor Solomon – 8
The Israeli winger definitely upped his game here and got his first goals as a reward. Despite improving, there is still another level to be found from his time at Fulham, and given he scored twice, that is great news for everyone involved at the club. He took his goals well, no matter how easy and that will give him huge confidence moving forward.
Joel Piroe – 3
With a busy international period for the likes of Mateo Joseph and a return to his former side, it was no surprise to see him start. The striker did literally nothing of note though and struggled to even touch the ball with his pressing slow at the best of times. Piroe will argue that he could have scored if Cabango didn’t put it in his own net, but more is needed.
Substitutes
Mateo Joseph – N/A
Willy Gnonto – N/A
Josuha Guilavogui – N/A
Max Wober – N/A
In other Leeds United news, more academy consistency is needed after what happened against Manchester United recently.
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