MOT View: Pablo getting plaudits but 9.0-rated Leeds ace was true difference-maker v Stoke
How do you justify a £16m fee when you’re being hammered by the Leeds United fans and not performing at your best?
You put in your best display in a Leeds shirt, score one goal and make another.
Helder Costa hasn’t had the best of times since the season was resumed and missed the 3-1 win against Blackburn through injury.
Fans were calling for him to be left out of the side for the Stoke game before his permanent deal was announced this week – it’s a good job he wasn’t.
Costa was a sensation on the right, despite heavy strapping to his knee, and was on the receiving end of a rare 9.0 from WhoScored – the highest-rated player on the pitch.
Pablo Hernandez, by way of reference, got an 8.4 and Patrick Bamford an 8.7
According to WyScout he scored from an xG of just 0.18 but was a constant menace, completing two out of three dribbles and having four touches in the penalty box.
It was his assist that really showed a more mature performance from the winger, though.
Far too often this season, Costa has run down a dead-end or just looked to get to the byline and put an aimless cross in.
He was a different animal on Thursday. He picked the ball up from a sensational pass from Luke Ayling after the Stoke players had been hypnotised by over 25 passes from the Leeds players in their own half.
Rather than head for the byline, Costa has the awareness to look up and see not just Bamford, but Hernandez steaming in behind him.
Bamford has a covering defender but Hernandez is potentially free.
Costa played a perfect ball to Hernandez (and we’re convinced that’s who the pass was aimed for) and luckily Bamford had the awareness to jump over the ball and leave it for Pablo.
Hernandez swept the ball home with a majestic finish to make it 4-0 before Bamford got his reward in injury time.
Marcelo Bielsa is a fan of Costa. He said that he made the difference against Stoke in his post-match press conference and we’re in total agreement.
Sky might have tried to tempt fate by piping in the “Leeds are falling apart” song on TV last night but Costa proved they most definitely weren’t.
Another display like this against Swansea could almost do it for Leeds.
In other Leeds United news, ‘They hate us so much’, ‘Shady’ – Some Leeds fans slam Sky for incidents in first-half v Stoke