Tony Dorigo delighted by what Liam Cooper has done following long Leeds United absence
Leeds United captain Liam Cooper has been “fantastic” since he came back from a long lay-off with injury according to Tony Dorigo.
The centre-back was injured in December and did not return to the field until earlier this month against Southampton (2 April), but the club have now kept two consecutive clean sheets, having not had one since November.
Fellow senior star Kalvin Phillips is now also back to full fitness, and although Dorigo felt Cooper was highly effective in the 0-0 draw with Crystal Palace this week, the midfielder was more restricted.
Writing in his Yorkshire Evening Post column, ex-Whites man Dorigo said: “Another positive is the return to full fitness of Kalvin Phillips. At Palace, with Conor Gallagher going here, there and everywhere, Phillips had a job to do like everyone else.
“When he got the ball, he was rarely in areas of space and couldn’t really control things as he would have liked. He can only play when there are options, remember, but at least he could contribute defensively and put some telling challenges in.
“Liam Cooper, meanwhile, continues to play really well. Considering how long he was out, he has been fantastic in the last two games, returning with a bang.
“With Phillips, in a new position and an unfamiliar system, he’s likely to get better as he goes on.”
No coincidence
United are unbeaten in the previous six Premier League games that the skipper has started, conceding three goals in that time and keeping four clean sheets.
If that doesn’t illustrate his importance on his own, the fact that they conceded 45 times in the intervening period while he was missing and didn’t keep a single clean sheet surely does.
While most of the talk was about Phillips and Patrick Bamford when the trio were all out and the form had taken a nose-dive under Marcelo Bielsa, Cooper may have truly been the key.
The defensive steel that he has restored to the side has been invaluable as the team looks to adapt to Jesse Marsch’s instructions.
Where previously a sloppy goal concession would preface a full-scale collapse all too often, the previous two matches have shown that the captain’s influence has helped the them stay in games long enough to get something they perhaps were not full value for.
Even Diego Llorente looks a different player next to him, when at the end of Bielsa’s reign he had looked practically shell-shocked in defeat to Tottenham.
Cooper has underlined his value strongly since return, showing little rust after so long, and if Phillips can get up to speed soon as well it will mean a transformed base to work with.
In other Leeds United news, there has reportedly been “no progress” in key contract talks at the club.