Pascal Struijk has just given Jaka Bijol hope after Leeds United loss vs Sunderland – stats show why
Jaka Bijol showed Daniel Farke once again why he should be starting after Leeds United lost 1-0 to Sunderland in the Premier League on Tuesday.
Elland Road witnessed the Black Cats secure the three points against the Whites on 3 March courtesy of Habib Diarra’s penalty in the 70th minute.
Pascal Struijk started alongside Joe Rodon and James Justin in the backline once again, but the Dutch defender was arguably the weak link in the West Yorkshire outfit’s defence.
Bijol came on and played the final 19 minutes of the game, and his impact was clearly evident during his cameo on the pitch.
Jaka Bijol embarrasses Pascal Struijk as stats emerge from Leeds United vs Sunderland
Struijk has been pivotal to Leeds’ success over the last few years, but his recent performances have raised questions about his place in the starting lineup.
In the 1-0 loss at Elland Road, the 26-year-old made two defensive contributions, won one of his two ground duels and one of his six aerial duels, as per Sofascore.
The Dutch centre-back committed one foul, had a 50 per cent long ball accuracy and lost possession nine times.
As for Bijol, he came on and won three of his four aerial duels, which goes to show his dominance in the air compared to Struijk.
The Slovenia international also had a 100 per cent passing accuracy, two shots on target and hit the woodwork once.
Struijk’s performance will surely give the former Udinese centre-back reason to believe that he can return to the starting lineup in the upcoming matches after coming off the bench in the last three Premier League games.
Daniel Farke has to make immediate double midfield change at Elland Road
Farke seems to have immense faith in Brenden Aaronson and Ilia Gruev, but the midfield duo have been nowhere near good enough in recent weeks.
The German manager should look to make changes to his system in the upcoming matches, and the FA Cup game against Norwich City on 8 March gives the Whites an opportunity to try something different.
Ao Tanaka, Sean Longstaff, Daniel James and Lukas Nmecha should be in contention to start for the West Yorkshire outfit, but it remains to be seen what the 49-year-old head coach opts to do.
The Peacocks can’t afford slip-ups in the final stretch of the season as they look to avoid Premier League relegation.
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