‘He didn’t play well’ – Sky Sports pundit slams Leeds player despite big win v Fulham
Jimmy-Floyd Hasselbaink has slammed Patrick Bamford’s performance as Leeds United won 3-0 against Fulham at Elland Road on Saturday.
Bamford, 26, scored his 14th goal of the season in the first half but with Fulham on top for most of the opening 45 minutes, Marcelo Bielsa made the brave call to take off the striker and replace him with Pablo Hernandez.
It was a surprise decision by Bielsa but ultimately it was one that helped Leeds cruise to a huge victory that saw them move top of the table.
Sky Sports pundit Hasselbaink believes that Bamford’s all-round play wasn’t at the standard it should have been and Bielsa’s decision to sub him off was justified.
“He didn’t play well, he didn’t play his normal self. It’s a great goal but normally he’s good holding the ball up and it doesn’t bounce off him,” Hasselbaink said on Sky Sports on Saturday, as quoted by LeedsLive.
“After the goal, you’d think he would have grown into the game. He didn’t do the things well that he normally does and I think that’s why the manager has taken him off but still it’s a big decision.”
According to stats by WhoScored, Bamford completed just seven passes before he was substituted off and his pass accuracy was 71.4 per cent – which is down from his season average of 75.1 per cent.
He did have two shots at goal though, which was as many as he managed against Cardiff last week and, of course, he hit the back of net with one of them against Fulham.
Bielsa has made some strange substitutions this season – the 3-3 draw with Cardiff being one of the main examples – but there is always a reason for his decisions.
Bamford clearly wasn’t doing what Bielsa wanted from him and thought that Hernandez’s introduction would have made a difference.
It was clearly a game-changing substitution and now we’re still celebrating a 3-0 win that put us top of the table.
Bielsa is a master tactician and this was one of his finest masterstrokes.
In other Leeds United news, fans were thrilled by this player’s “perfect” display versus Fulham.