First team

Leeds United player ratings v Fulham

|

A late, late Chris Wood goal saved us from a third defeat in a row and relieved some pressure off Garry Monk and his squad. It still doesn’t hide away from the fact that we’re a long way from where we need to be – Fulham were a solid outfit and they completely dominated Leeds’ midfield with their three against our two.




GK – Rob Green – 8 – Couldn’t do much with Cairney’s strike for me – the curl on it was unbelievable. He did keep us in the game though and made a brilliant one-handed save to keep the game at 0-0.




RB – Luke Ayling – 7 – Another fairly solid performance from our new right-back. He hasn’t really put a foot wrong in his first two games, he seems strong and is decent on the ball.

CB – Kyle Bartley – 7 – I thought Bartley had a really good game last night, he looks very good alongside Cooper. Kept Matt Smith at bay with relevant ease and looks calm and assured on the ball.

CB – Liam Cooper – 7 – Like Bartley, a good performance from Cooper. If Bridcutt can perform as he did last season and protect the back four then I think the defence will look a lot more solid.

LB – Charlie Taylor – 7 – I thought Taylor was very poor on Saturday but he put in a solid performance last night. He doesn’t seem the same player offensively from last season but hopefully now he can start to build on last night. He also provided the cross for Wood’s equaliser.
Into midfield…







RM – Stuart Dallas – 6 – Dallas looked good in early spells but that went promise went away as the game went on. He looked knackered and was taken off after 60 minutes for Vieira. Not a change I would have made but we certainly needed someone to help Kalvin in the middle of midfield.

CM – Kalvin Phillips – 7 – I think Phillips was one of our best players and it didn’t help that he was practically chasing Fulham’s midfield on his own. With Bridcutt alongside him we could see big things from Kalvin this season. I hope he keeps his place for Saturday.

CM – Pablo Hernandez – 5 – A complete passenger for a lot of the game. He is not a central midfielder – especially in a two-man midfield. He left Phillips to chase Fulham’s three on his own and wasn’t really a threat going forward either. I want to see him playing further forward as a number 10 and Bridcutt and Phillips should now allow that to happen although Mowatt looked good when he came on, which will give Monk some selection problems on Saturday.

LM – Kemar Roofe – 6 – He worked hard last night but I don’t really think he’s a winger. I would like to see him played higher up and central although I do think he’d suit the left hand side in a 4-2-3-1. I’m sure he will improve as the season goes on.

Onto the forwards..







ST – Marcus Antonsson – 8 – I think this guy is our man. He was a constant threat last night; he’s strong and holds it up well, he’s always playing on the shoulder looking to get in behind and he shows some great touches and pace at times. I also think he would suit the lone striker role in a 4-2-3-1.

ST – Chris Wood – 7 – I though Wood looked okay last night. He won plenty of headers and held up it fairly well. Something’s still not right with him but hopefully the goal will give him some confidence to go and play now.

Subs:

Alex Mowatt – 6 – Didn’t really have enough time on the pitch in my opinion but he helped get some control in the midfield. Between him and Pablo for the number 10 role should Monk switch it up and at the moment I think you’ve got to start Mowatt.

Ronaldo Vieira – 6 – It was the right thing to do to drop him – needed taking out of the spotlight. He definitely looked a lot better when he came on though – he brought us energy when we needed it. Bridcutt signing should do him wonders in terms of his progression.

Hadi Sacko – 5 – He didn’t do much when he came on. He doesn’t seem very strong and he didn’t beat a man at all when he came on. He also took the ball into the corner to settle for a draw when he could’ve taken his man on, much to the crowds anger. I still think there’s a lot more to come from him.

Overall I think Leeds’ very under-cooked preseason has come back to haunt us a bit, we are clearly behind other teams, hopefully we can catch up in time for Saturday as we can’t afford a defeat.

Share this article