Rodrigo man of the match as Firpo struggles: Leeds United player ratings v Newcastle United
Leeds United saw their winless start to the Premier League season continue with an entertaining 1-1 draw against Newcastle at St James’ Park on Friday night.
Raphinha’s first-half cross managed to find the back of the net after a clever dummy by Rodrigo before Allan Saint-Maximin equalised for Steve Bruce’s side before the break.
Both teams entertained the St James’ Park crowd and had plenty of chances to build on the scoreline throughout the 90 minutes.
Here are MOT Leeds News’ ratings for the 1-1 draw on Tyneside on Friday night:
Illan Meslier – 6
Meslier couldn’t do much about Saint-Maximin’s brilliant goal and made a good stop from Joelinton earlier in the first half. Distribution was good.
Stuart Dallas – 5
He wasn’t the only one but Dallas regularly struggled with Saint-Maximin’s pace and trickery throughout the game. He didn’t offer much going forward either. However, it was the first time in a while he’s been played at right-back.
Luke Ayling – 5
Ayling was moved over to centre-back with Pascal Struijk, Robin Koch and Diego Llorente all unavailable. He wasn’t terrible but wasn’t great either. Probably the strongest of Leeds’ back-four – but that isn’t much to shout about. Went off injured late on.
Liam Cooper – 4
League One Liam is back. The Scotland international really struggled to cope with the pace of Newcastle’s attackers and didn’t cover himself with glory for Saint-Maximin’s goal. He made one good challenge on the Frenchman in the second half but he lost the battle between those two at St James’ Park.
Junior Firpo – 3
Firpo’s performances are yet to grab the imagination of Leeds fans despite being a key signing in the summer. He was regularly beaten by Newcastle’s attackers, made a woeful attempt to block Saint-Maximin’s goal and embarrassingly missed a sitter at the end of the first half. Booked in the second half for a foul on Joe Willock.
Kalvin Phillips – 6
It wasn’t the finest of games for Phillips but he did his job well. He protected the defence when he needed to and was strong in possession, as he always is. Phillips could have done better but it was a steady display by the England man.
Matheus Klich – 6
It was good to see Klich back in the side but you get the feeling that Dallas may have been a better choice in the midfield with Jamie Shackleton playing at right-back. Still, Klich was solid and didn’t have a bad game at all.
Rodrigo – 9 (Man of the match)
Everything good that Leeds did came through Rodrigo. He’s faced some stick during his spell at Elland Road but the Spain international came to life at St James’ Park. Almost all of his passes were a threat to Newcastle’s defence and his dummy for Raphinha’s goal was genius. Potentially his best performance in a Leeds shirt.
Raphinha – 8
Raphinha grabbed the brilliant opener for Leeds. He was somewhat fortunate to see what was a cross beat the Newcastle goalkeeper but the Brazilian regularly troubled the home side’s defence. Surprisingly substituted in the 67th minute.
Daniel James – 6
James wasn’t as effective as Bielsa’s other attackers but it was still a decent shift by the Welshman, who made his full debut in light of Jack Harrison’s illness. He was replaced just after the hour mark.
Patrick Bamford – 7
Linked up well with the other Leeds attackers when he dropped deep and grabbed the assist for Raphinha’s goal. However, Bamford’s finishing could have been better and he squandered a golden chance in the second half after being fed through by Rodrigo.
Substitutes:
Tyler Roberts (on for Daniel James, 61′) – 5
Cryensio Summerville (on for Raphinha, ’67) – 5
Jamie Shackleton (on for Luke Ayling ’89) – N/A
In other Leeds United news, a pundit is furious after what Craig Pawson told the FA about Pascal Struijk’s red card.