Pascal Struijk baffles pundit in ‘wild’ Leeds United moment vs Manchester City, ‘My goodness’
Pascal Struijk didn’t cover himself in glory as Leeds United fell to a 3-2 defeat away to Manchester City.
Leeds may have lost against Man City, but their efforts in the second half were certainly valiant under Daniel Farke.
Phil Foden opened the scoring after just one minute, thanks to some shocking defending from Wilfried Gnonto against City, before Josko Gvardiol made it two.
The second half couldn’t have been more different, with Dominic Calvert-Lewin netting before Lukas Nmecha scored against his former Man City side.
Foden may have netted to steal the three points, but the likes of Struijk certainly put their bodies on the line throughout the Etihad clash.
Pascal Struijk nearly netted own goal vs Manchester City
Struijk struggled for Leeds against Aston Villa and failed to truly justify his inclusion as a starter for the Whites in the Premier League.
That didn’t seem to discourage Farke, as the 26-year-old was once again selected from the start at the Etihad before featuring across the full 110 minutes.
The Dutchman didn’t go without error against the Citizens, with multiple questionable moments throughout his showing in MR11.
The biggest one of all came as a Jeremy Doku cross was flapped at by Lucas Perri and was so nearly directed into Leeds’ goal.
Struijk swung a leg at the ball to try and keep it out but came ever so close to scuffing it into the net, leaving ex-centre back Damien Delaney completely baffled live on Premier Sports 1.
He said: “How Struijk gets away with this one, I’m not sure.
“Doku does great to fire the ball across, the goalkeeper plays it into the air, Struijk with a wild swing and a miss, it comes off his knee and somehow spins past that far post.
“My goodness, Struijk’s heart must have been in his mouth.“
Daniel Farke must axe Struijk at Leeds United
The frustration with a result like this against Man City is that Leeds definitely deserved at least a point against Pep Guardiola’s side.
Individual lapses in concentration played their part outside of true moments of quality from the hosts played their part in a disappointing 3-2 defeat.
Struijk is certainly guilty of the prior, as Delaney noted, with his shocking clearance being the clearest example.
It begs the question of why Farke is continuing to persist with the Dutchman, while someone like Jaka Bijol watches from the bench.
The Slovenia international got on in the second half and really should come into replace Struijk for the upcoming Elland Road clash against Chelsea.
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