Leeds United player ratings v Coventry – 8/10 MOTM, 4/10 man struggles
Leeds United secured another crucial three points on Wednesday night, with a 2-0 victory against Coventry City.
The Whites dominated proceedings after Joel Piroe gave them the lead inside 17 minutes with a neat finish into the far corner after some cleverer play from Manor Solomon.
Daniel Farke’s side quickly doubled their advantage through Jayden Bogle before showcasing an impressive level of game management to see out the remainder of the game.
The result means that Leeds now have a five-point advantage at the top of the Championship, albeit with all three teams below them having a game in hand.
MOT Leeds News rates the performance of each Whites player.
Illan Meslier – 8
Coventry offered little threat and when they did, it was usually handled well before Meslier was called into action. Made an excellent save to deny Ellis Simms in the second half with another remarkable stop in the latter stages of the game.
Jayden Bogle – 8
Showed good composure for the second goal and was remarkably solid defensively. Barely gave Coventry a sniff down his side of the pitch and played a key role in transition.
Joe Rodon – 7
He didn’t have an awful lot to do in the game but was surprisingly weak in his aerial battles. Very composed on the ball when in possession and was always aware of what was around him giving Coventry little to work with.
Ethan Ampadu – 6
His role in playing the ball out from the back was crucial, and as ever, his passing was almost always on point. Struggled at times to deal with the physicality of Simms and was unable to win many of his duels.
Junior Firpo – 7
Similar to Bogle, Firpo played a big role in driving forward with the ball when Leeds were on the attack. Was strong in the tackle and often forced Coventry attacks centrally with his positioning preventing any threat.
Ao Tanaka – 7
Wasn’t at his best against Coventry but did very little wrong. Passing was sometimes a little bit erratic but kept going throughout the game and as he always does, he still played a crucial role.
Ilia Gruev – 8
Didn’t do anything flashy in the game but he did the basics remarkably well. His passing was neat throughout and Coventry found it difficult to get anything out of him. His role will go unnoticed but he was certainly one of the better players on the pitch.
Aaronson fails to impress for Leeds United, Piroe nets again
Daniel James – 5 (For Gnonto 86′)
James was involved a lot but was wasteful on many occasions, especially in the first half when misplacing a pass across to Solomon inside the penalty area. Caused problems all night but he’s capable of far more than he showcased against Coventry.
Brenden Aaronson – 4 (For Struijk 90′)
Aaronson was largely anonymous throughout the game and when he was involved, he showed very little quality. Needs to offer far more if he is to remain in the starting 11.
Manor Solomon – 7 (For Ramazani 78′)
Played an excellent ball through to Piroe for the opening goal and was a threat throughout. Leeds perhaps failed to get him involved as much as they would have liked, limiting the amount of threat he could have posed.
Joel Piroe – 7 (For Joseph 86′)
Took his goal very, very well but was still sloppy in his passing at times and didn’t quite use his physicality to the best of his ability. Should have had a second goal after Solomon put one on a plate for the Dutchman but his effort was poor and easily saved.
Substitutions
Largie Ramazani – N/A (For Solomon 78′)
Willy Gnonto – N/A (For James 86′)
Mateo Joseph – N/A (For Piroe 86′)
Pascal Struijk – N/A (For Aaronson 90)
Josuha Guilavogui – N/A
In other Leeds United news, Manor Solomon was indirectly insulted by Daniel Farke.
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