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Leeds United ace Liam Cooper slammed on Scotland duty as ‘ludicrous’ verdict dropped in 5/10 showing
Leeds United defender produced a 5/10 showing for Scotland against France, according to The National journalist Ewan Paton.
The centre-back started and played 64 minutes of the international friendly encounter in Lille on Tuesday (17 October).
He was then replaced by Rangers man John Souttar, with Steve Clarke’s outfit losing the match 4-1 despite leading through Billy Gilmour.
Handing the player a 5/10 match rating, Paton wrote for The National: “At first glance, it seemed ludicrous that he was pulling Olivier Giroud’s jersey inside the box for France’s penalty. While the Leeds defender shouldn’t have been doing so, replays showed that the striker was at it too.”
Scottish Daily Mail journalist Calum Crowe also gave Cooper a 5/10, writing in the print edition of the newspaper (18 October, page 79): “Gave away penalty for 3-1 after VAR spotted him pulling Giroud’s jersey and wrestling him to the deck.”
Disappointing
Cooper was always going to be up against it from the very start against a deadly France attack, with manager Didier Deschamps starting with a lethal front four of Giroud, Kylian Mbappe, Antoine Griezmann and Ousmane Dembele.
The hosts were clearly not underestimating their opponents, and that approach rang true in the opening stages as Gilmour put the visitors ahead after just 11 minutes.
But Les Bleus quickly turned on the charm, with Mbappe and Kingsley Coman both scoring after defender Benjamin Pavard netted a brace.
Even with that fierce attack, Cooper will have been disappointed to have conceded three goals, one of which was directly because of him.
The Scots will, however, still be in good spirits overall after they secured qualification for Euro 2024 not long before the friendly test in France.
Cooper’s aim now will surely be staying fit and focused for his club in order to gain a place in Clarke’s squad for that major tournament.
In other Leeds United news, a silver lining has emerged as one Whites sensation is wanted by Premier League giants.