Leeds United were knocked out of the Carabao Cup by Middlesbrough.

Leeds United trio torn to shreds by Sky Sports pundit v Middlesbrough - 'Shocking'

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Published on:

14 Aug 2024, 4:45 pm

Sky Sports pundit Andy Hinchcliffe was furious with the Leeds United defending in their Carabao Cup defeat to Middlesbrough on Wednesday night.

Leeds fell to an embarrassing 3-0 loss at Elland Road with Anfernee Dijksteel, Delano Burgzorg and Josh Coburn all scoring in the second half.

Daniel Farke's side failed to cope with the directness of the away side with Hinchcliffe accusing the Whites of standing off Boro too much after Dijksteel scored the first goal of the game.

Speaking on Sky Sports Main Event on Wednesday night (09:10pm, 14 April), Hinchcliffe said: "They deserve it. They've been controlling the game and then just stepped up the tempo and the urgency. Leeds just stepped off Middlesbrough.

"Once Dijksteel drifts infield, the Leeds defenders and midfielders are just watching him carry the ball into the most dangerous area. Then, he does the right thing, on his weaker left foot he just passes it into the bottom-left corner.

"The lack of pressure on the ball and the defending from Leeds is shocking here."

Hinchcliffe later singled out Junior Firpo, Joe Rodon and Joe Rothwell for failing to defend the goal.

Leeds United dumped out of Carabao Cup early

Farke has a lot of work to do before the transfer window closes because Leeds' first two performances of the season have been sub-par.

They've conceded three goals and drawn with a newly-promoted Portsmouth and then gone and conceded three more and lost to Middlesbrough, a team who could be in the hunt for promotion this season.

What made it worse was that both of these performances were at home.

Leeds' defence is arguably the strongest part of their squad with Rodon now a permanent member of the side alongside the likes of Max Wober and Pascal Struijk.

Pascal Struijk is an important player for Leeds United

But they absolutely fell apart at the back against Boro and offered very little going forward.

Leeds have made a lot of money this summer so while they will have one eye on PSR, they do need to reinvest some of the Archie Gray and Crysencio Summerville cash back into the side, potentially in the midfield area.

In other Leeds United news, a player was spotted with the Leeds squad against Middlesbrough for the first time since 2022.

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Leeds United

Andy Hinchcliffe