Rio Ferdinand shares really concerning Leeds United admission live on BT Sport
Rio Ferdinand has shared a concerned Leeds United verdict after the Whites were beaten 2-1 by Fulham on Saturday afternoon.
Goals from Harry Wilson and Andreas Pereira saw Marco Silva’s side secure an impressive victory and condemn Javi Gracia’s men to a third defeat on the spin.
Speaking after the game, Leeds’ former defender believes the next two fixtures against Leicester and Bournemouth are “massive” in the Whites’ bid to beat the drop.
“I am really concerned for them, they came into this game having shipped eleven goals in two games,” said Ferdinand (BT Sport, 22 April).
“You’re sitting there thinking how are they going to get themselves out of this. The first 45 minutes they set up very pragmatic in the way they played.
“They’ve got two massive games against Leicester and Bournemouth. They have to get a minimum of three points. If they win one of them they put one of their rivals right back in the relegation mix.”
Make or break
After Leicester’s win over Wolves, Tuesday night’s fixture at Elland Road will be extremely significant. Leeds stopped haemorrhaging goals against Fulham, but they rarely looked like threatening themselves.
The midfield partnership hasn’t worked since Tyler Adams’ injury, Rasmus Kristensen still looks lost at right back, Jack Harrison’s hot streak has ended, and Rodrigo’s goalscoring form has dried up.
It’s all very depressing at present and this run of form has come at an awful time for Gracia. The first half against Crystal Palace was so promising, particularly after the comeback win against Nottingham Forest. It felt as if things were heading in the right direction.
Where exactly do we go from here? The loss against Fulham felt as if the players were so concerned about conceding three or four that they gave up on trying to score altogether. Furthermore, when they did get into promising areas, they rushed their pass or shot.
In other Leeds United news, BT Sport have shared previously unseen footage of a “surprise” controversy in the defeat at Fulham.