Pranav Shahaney

Sat 16 October 2021 16:56, UK

Leeds United suffered a 1-0 defeat against Southampton at St. Mary’s on Saturday afternoon.

Armando Broja marked his first Premier League start for Saints with his first goal for them.

Leeds were quite comfortably the second-best team on the day, registering just three shots on goal and failing to find the target from any.

Here’s how MOT Leeds News rated the Whites at St. Mary’s on Saturday afternoon:

Illan Meslier – 5

Meslier made three decent saves and there was little he could do to stop Armando Broja from scoring. Apart from that, nothing really stood out in the Frenchman’s performance.

Diego Llorente – 5

The Spaniard did not win any of his ground duels and unnecessarily got himself suspended too. Not the best of games for him.

Pascal Struijk – 4

A disappointing game from the 22-year-old. He committed an error that led to Southampton nearly taking the lead, but luckily they did not score with that effort. He also lost both his aerial duels and won just one of the four ground ones he attempted.

Liam Cooper – 7

Seemed to be one of the few Whites players up for the task. Was comfortable with the ball at his feet and terrific in the air, forcing Armando Broja and Nathan Redmond to force their way from the other side.

Jamie Shackleton – 7

Another player who’s done well over the past few games. Once again, Shackleton was impressive playing as a right-wing-back. He was good defensively and also tidy in possession.

Mateusz Klich – 5

A quiet game from the Polish midfielder. He tried his best to create chances for the likes of Rodrigo, Harrison and James, but to no avail.

Stuart Dallas – 5

Much like Klich, Dallas did not have an influential game for Leeds and the absence of Kalvin Phillips was certainly felt.

Jack Harrison – 4

After falling down the pecking order at Elland Road, Harrison was handed a rare chance to right all wrongs today in the absence of Raphinha. He failed to do anything noteworthy in front of goal, and even missed one big chance.

Rodrigo – 3

Quite comfortably the worst player on the pitch. The club-record signing failed to get involved in the buildup, lacked the conviction while attempting to take on players and was nowhere when the defenders were expecting him to make runs beyond the opposition back line. Patrick Bamford cannot return sooner.

Daniel James – 5

The Welshman started the game on the left, but kept rotating positions with Harrison on the other flank. In the 68th minute, he had a chance to equalise after Mohamed Salisu’s miscommunication with Alex McCarthy, but he failed to keep his shot on target.

In other Leeds United news, player admits he was ‘Nervous’ before PL defeat this season