Leeds Player Ratings - Bolton 0 - 1 Leeds

Leeds United extended their winning run with a 1-0 win against Bolton Wanderers at the University of Bolton Stadium.

A goal from substitute Patrick Bamford takes Marcelo Bielsa’s side to the top of the table (potentially only for a couple of hours).

Leeds were the better side throughout and went close early on through a Pablo Hernandez header but in truth it wasn’t much of a game. In the second half, it was more of the same but Bamford’s goal at the end of the best footballing move of the match gave Leeds the lead. Leeds made too many sloppy mistakes and Bolton had a very strong penalty appeal following a terrible backpass from Adam Forshaw, although the replays showed the referee probably got the decision correct.

Time now to look at each player and how they performed. As always you can tell me how wrong I am @mightywhitespod or @ThruItAllLUFC on twitter.

STARTING LINE-UP

Bailey Peacock-Farrell - No saves to make. Dealt with a couple of crosses well, looked shaky on a couple of others. One really hairy moment where he came out of his box and ended up flicking the ball over the attacker before clearing, it was a good recovery but his starting position caused the problem in the first place. Nevertheless, a clean sheet is never to be sniffed at. 6.5/10

Jamie Shackleton - Leeds best overall play may well have been the first 10 minutes and Shackleton was getting forward well and was very involved in the attacks during this spell. Once the game became scrappy, he was less of a force going forward but he defended well throughout, good in possession too. 7/10

Pontus Jansson - Excellent performance from the Sweden international. Won almost everything in the air and won the tackles he was required to make. Did well to cover for some of the sloppy passing in midfield which was a bit too frequent, the last 15mins of the first half he must done that 4/5 times. 8.5/10

Kalvin Phillips - A better performance than he produced against Queens Park Rangers. Did well in the air but was overshadowed by his centre-back partner in that regard. Not faultless though and did make a couple of errors. 6.5/10

Barry Douglas - Back to playing some of his good passes inside when he could get forward. Some good strength defensively although he struggled for pace on a couple of occasions. Set-piece deliveries were fine but not at their most dangerous. Excellent header off the line late on could prove to be a crucial moment come the end of the season. 7/10

Adam Forshaw - Better in the second half than the first once again. Some strong work in the tackle second half and maintained possession well on most occasions. Got more opportunity to spread the play with cross field passes as he likes to do. Got caught in possession in a dangerous area in the first half but got lucky as the ref gave a free-kick. The good Bolton penalty shout came from Forshaw playing a terrible mis-hit pass into the Leeds penalty area. His job is to marshal the game, particularly at 1-0 up, and mistakes like that need to be eliminated or at least reduced. 7/10

Pablo Hernandez - Played the first half on the right hand side. Had Leeds best effort of the first half in the first couple of minutes with a good header turned over the bar. Then the game became scrappy and he was less involved. Second half, moved into the attacking central position in the 4-1-4-1 and was far more involved immediately. Started looking more creative and got the assist for Bamford’s goal with a great through-ball through the defenders legs. Did have some really sloppy moments but whenever that happened he was first on the scene to win the ball back. Another excellent performance from the former Spain international. 8/10

Lewis Baker - I said on the podcast that I would be surprised if Baker gets another start in the league this season. I hadn’t reckoned on Samuel Saiz being sold at that point, but I still don’t see how he ended up getting the nod today. Just like his last start he was pulled at Half-Time, with his most telling contribution being him giving the ball away in a dangerous area before Jansson got him out of jail, he didn’t give it away much but his passing was very negative even when it found a man. Not a good day for him. 4/10

Mateusz Klich - Had a couple of good efforts on goal, both well saved by Ben Alnwick. Had a bit more space in the second half as he didn’t get much help from Baker in the first half. Seemed to get tired in the second half and had a few sloppy moments with the ball. 6.5/10

Ezgjan Alioski - A good early cross to find Hernandez for his early chance. Good work rate as usual but gave the ball away on too many occasions and didn’t offer enough of a threat after that early chance. 5/10

Kemar Roofe - Poorest game for a while but not really his fault. Received no service. Bamford far more of a threat today. 5/10

SUBSTITUTES

Jack Clarke (for Lewis Baker, HT) - Terrifies defenders and got in behind well with bits of skill. Involved in the Leeds goal by driving forward 60 yards with the ball to get a counter-attack going. If Hernandez moves central he is in with a real shout of a start soon. 7/10

Patrick Bamford (for Kemar Roofe, 61mins) - Excellent right-foot finish for the crucial goal. Showed good movement throughout his time on the pitch and was able to get more involved than Roofe today. Wouldn’t expect a start yet but did himself no harm in that regard. 7.5/10

Aapo Halme (for Hernandez, 94mins) - Not on long enough to score. N/A