Beren Cross shares what Raphinha did at Old Trafford after Leeds United lost 5-1
Raphinha was the only Leeds United starter who stayed on the pitch to practice his skills after Manchester United beat the Whites 5-1 on Saturday.
That’s according to Beren Cross, writing on LeedsLive, who was at Old Trafford and witnessed the intriguing incident.
Cross wrote: “As the warm-ups finished before the match at Old Trafford, Leeds United made their way over to the stadium’s south-east corner for a final round of applause from the away faithful.
“Only one of the starters stuck around for afters, however. Long after the rest of the starting line-up had disappeared down the tunnel, Raphinha remained on the field knocking in free-kicks.
“Alongside substitutes Kalvin Phillips and Sam Greenwood, the Brazilian grasped a few more minutes with the ball at his feet about 20 yards out.”
Class
Raphinha was on fire for Leeds last season but he was lacking in end product on Saturday.
That’s not to be totally unexpected – sometimes players can take a while to get back into their groove after such a long break from competitive football.
It wasn’t exactly the easiest game for the Brazilian either, up against the 2020/21 Premier League runners-up whose team is worth hundreds of millions.
We expect the 24-year-old to be back on form soon, though, and his endeavour and willingness to work on his skills should help him do that in no time at all.
It’s great to hear him staying behind on the pitch to put in more practice – some other players should follow suit after our display on Saturday.
Raphinha’s a class act. Expect his training to pay dividends in the coming weeks as he bends a free-kick into the top corner.
In other Leeds United news, Gary Neville delivers ‘Unbelievable’ Whites player reaction after Manchester United defeat.