Leeds player ratings: Burton Albion 1 - 2 Leeds United

Leeds United almost had a reverse of the Hull City match, where Leeds played poorly but were still able to grab a vital three points at home. Leeds missed about three or four very good chances to score in the first half-hour, and wasteful teams are often penalized, as Leeds were after Tom Naylor tipped in a shot at the far post after the Leeds defence seemed to switch off, thinking that the Burton Albion player was offsides. He was ruled on-side, and Leeds were cruelly down 1-0 at half-time, only to spring back in the second half behind a magical free kick from Pablo Hernandez and a well struck shot from Kemar Roofe to put Leeds ahead for good and to do the double over the Brewers.

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STARTING LINE-UP

Felix Wiedwald: Didn’t have a ton to do in the whole match. Made a nice save in the first half from perhaps the best shot on net from Burton, and had absolutely no chance to save the first goal after Ronaldo Vieira just sat and watched Naylor nick in at the back post to put the ball into the back of the net. Made at least one good save during the goalmouth scramble near the death. 7/10

Luke Ayling: Was good enough defensively, although it was telling that Burton seemed to avoid his side of the pitch when going forward. Combined well with Cibicki a few times in the first half in controlling possession. Still think he needs a rest, but did nothing to suggest he should be dropped. 6/10

Liam Cooper: Made a bit of a mistake after losing possession and fouling the Burton player with a good amount of time on the ball. Besides that, did well enough to keep Burton’s attack from looking very dangerous. 6/10

Pontus Jansson: A very good performance in which Burton never looked good enough in the box to win a header on goal. Threw himself at the ball in an attempt to clear the ball during the late goalmouth scramble and, as usual, was the team’s emotional leader on the pitch. 7/10

Gaetano Berardi: Got a yellow at the end of the first half, during which the Sky Sports announcer made it sound as if he’d never seen a player win the ball after sliding in with his studs up before. Thought the yellow card was a bit harsh, despite the kerfuffle that happened as a result. Burton attacked down Berardi’s side, but were largely unsuccessful. 6/10

Ronaldo Vieira: Would have gotten a higher grade for his performance in the first half, and his beautiful pass that released Kemar Roofe alone on Steven Bywater, but is downgraded for his mind-numbing error by assuming that Naylor was offsides and simply stopping, letting Naylor get to the back post unmarked to tap the ball in for Burton’s goal. Was the best player in the midfield for both teams, but was lucky that Leeds were able to battle back and score, otherwise his error would have been magnified. 7/10

Eunan O’Kane: Played well along side Vieira, and had played a brilliant ball into the box that Roofe was almost able to put behind for an opening goal in the first half. Controlled the midfield with Vieira in the first half, but slowed down as the game went on. The most memorable part of the match for O’Kane is when Bywater pulled his shorts down in frustration before Pablo Hernandez’s goal from the free kick. 6/10

Gjanni Alioski: Had a brilliant chance to open the scoring, but just put his shot wide in in the 16th minute. Has not seemed as likely to score when playing on the left instead of the right, where he is able to use his pace to cut in and get shots off. Had a good, if unspectacular, match. 6/10

Pablo Hernandez: His free kick was a work of art in the second half, and did good to keep the ball in the first half, reminded Leeds fans that even if Samu Saiz is out, there is another Spanish wizard still at the club and able to play the number 10 role to perfection. Man of the Match for me. 8/10

Pawel Cibicki: Played well in the first half, getting into space and working well to get crosses into the box, but without a target man in the middle, they went a bit wasted. Seemed to fade as the match went on. 6/10

Kemar Roofe: Did well in the first half to get in for a pair of chances that went just wide, and his run was timed perfectly to stay onside as Vieira played a pass that he simply latched on to and slotted the ball home for the well-deserved lead. Was the Sky man of the match, and honestly, has probably kept his place in the team, despite not being able to get his head to very many crosses sent into the box in the air. 8/10

SUBSTITUTES:

Pierre-Michel Lasogga: Seemed a bit disinterested in holding the ball up, but was also brought on late when Leeds were more concerned with staying ahead than pushing on for a third goal. Roofe seems to be keeping him out of the side at the moment, and needs so show more to get back into the lineup. 5/10

Kalvin Phillips: Came on late for Vieira to help close out the match. Wasn’t on long enough to have a huge impact, but still did enough to largely close out the match. 6/10

Matthew Pennington: Came on in the 90th minute (again) to help close out the match. Seems to come in late to close out the match, and has done good enough, as Leeds have yet to concede after he’s come on to close out the match. NA