Jamie Redknapp slams Pascal Struijk for poor defending in Leeds United 2-1 loss v Manchester City
Jamie Redknapp has slammed Leeds United defender Pascal Struijk for his “really bad” decision-making that resulted in a penalty for Manchester City in the 2-1 loss on Saturday (6 May).
Sam Allardyce’s side were outclassed by the league leaders throughout their clash at the Etihad Stadium but served up a tense finale when Rodrigo netted with five minutes to play.
However, at 2-0 down and moments after coming off the bench to replace Adam Forshaw, Struijk hacked down Phil Foden in the penalty area, with Andy Madley subsequently pointing to the spot.
Although Gundogan struck the bar with his penalty, and the ball was cleared away by the Leeds defence, Redknapp was damning in his assessment of the 23-year-old’s defending when speaking live on Sky Sports after the game.
“He doesn’t get into the speed of the game,” he said live on Sky Sports One [17:02].
“It’s a poor tackle, a poor decision, he goes with his wrong foot. Really bad decision.”
Terrible defending
Whenever coming on as a substitute in the Premier League, it is imperative you can hit the ground running and get up to the speed of the game as soon as possible.
This couldn’t have been any further than the case for Struijk, who had a truly terrible start to proceedings when coming off the bench in the second half.
The tackle on Foden was a needless and why he stuck a leg out in such a manner will have come as a huge frustration to Allardyce, after his side limited the damage City could wreak throughout the prior 80 minutes of action.
In the bigger picture, Struijk’s poor cameo wouldn’t have done his first-team chances any good whatsoever.
Although Junior Firpo was torn to shreds by Riyad Mahrez all afternoon, Struijk doesn’t look like a much better alternative.
Allardyce will have food for thought ahead of the clash against Newcastle at Elland Road next week, with some tricky decisions to make about his defensive personnel.
In other Leeds United news, one source has shared what Big Sam has done at the club, which is something that has been seen for a while.