Darren Fletcher shocked by Pascal Struijk miss in first half v Burnley
Leeds United beat Burnley 1-0 on Saturday but a miss from Pascal Struijk had commentator Darren Fletcher shrieking.
Matheus Klich scored the only goal in a first half of few chances, but Struijk could have scored before that when he found himself in space in the box.
Kalvin Phillips picked out the centre-back with a superb ball from deep but Struijk sent his header narrowly wide, much to the shock of BT Sport commentator Darren Fletcher, who expected Struijk to score.
On BT Sport 1’s coverage of the match, Fletcher was shrieking when describing the miss, saying, “Struijk oh free header and he’s put it wide!
“Landed right on his forehead with the whole goal to aim at and he’s so frustrated, that flashed right by the post.
“It’s a great chance when you see it back again because you wouldn’t have expected him to be that free in that situation.”
It made no difference in the end as Leeds absolutely hammered Burnley 4-0.
Establishing a place in the side
We must admit that we were pleasantly surprised that Marcelo Bielsa went with Struijk instead of Liam Cooper.
But it is the least Struijk deserves, as he has not put a foot wrong in recent matches.
He was solid in the first half against Burnley too, particularly early on when they looked to pressure the backline with a number of crosses.
In recent weeks Struijk has shown great composure and the physicality to match, and there have been signs this season that he is an aerial threat.
He missed a good chance on this occasion but powered home a fine header against Arsenal at The Emirates earlier this season.
He also dominated Crystal Palace in a home game this year with his aerial presence, and the threat he poses should help his case to play regularly.
We are excited by his progression and believe he could be a big player in the future.
In other Leeds United news, Adam Pope details real reason Robin Koch was not in Leeds squad v Burnley.