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Leeds United fell to yet another defeat in London as Fulham claimed a 2-1 win at Craven Cottage.
Since winning 3-0 at Fulham in March 2015, #lufc's record in London is: LDLDDLLDLLLWLDLLLLL. We've had more red cards (3) than wins (1) in London in that time.
— Jonny Cooper (@JRCooper26) December 21, 2019
An Aleksandar Mitrovic penalty, following a really poor refereeing decision, was equalised by Patrick Bamford. However, former Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Josh Omomah got the winner from a corner to give the home side three points against Marcelo Bielsa’s side.
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
Kiko Casilla - Unlucky with the penalty, tipped it onto the post but it crept in. Showed some “Kiko” with an excellent Cruyff turn to beat Mitrovic. Tremendous save to deny Ivan Cavaleiro’s excellent strike from 25 yards. 6/10
Luke Ayling - Ended up with the ball in a couple of good areas but couldn’t do anything with it in the opening 30mins. Pushed Tom Cairney into the Leeds coaching staff which didn’t go down well. Played a couple of really terrible passes between 30 and 40th minutes. Definitely not his best day. 5/10
Ben White - Penalised for the penalty for the opening goal, but it was one of the softest decisions you are ever going to see. Struggled to deal with Mitrovic throughout the first half when the ball was knocked long towards him. A few poor passes in bad areas in the second half. 5.5/10
The penalty given against Leeds is one of the softest I’ve ever seen.#LUFC
— Second Tier Podcast (@TheSecondTier) December 21, 2019
pic.twitter.com/XhufRWmrZu
Liam Cooper - Returning from injury, booked in the 24th minute for a foul on Mitrovic. Looked the best of the defenders. Header across was just cleared away from Nketiah and off the goal line in the last minute by Mitrovic. 6.5/10
Stuart Dallas - Had to move into central midfield after three minutes due to the Hernandez injury. Had Leeds first really good chance with a one-on-one on his left-foot but Marek Rodak made a good save. Dragged an effort on the half-volley wide as well. Was meant to be marking Onomah for his goal at the corner but completely switched off. 6.5/10
The fact players like Dallas and Allioski are playing in 2 or 3 positions every game tells a story. #LUFC
— W. V3 (@Wood_V3) December 21, 2019
Kalvin Phillips - Couple of really good free-kicks from deep. Not able to dominate in midfield like he does when at his best in the first half. Seemed to lose more one-on-one battles than normal. 6/10
Helder Costa - Had a decent effort on goal in the opening minute but was very quiet after that. Both him and Joe Bryan were booked after Costa reacted angrily to a Bryan foul. Subbed at Half-Time. 5/10
Mateusz Klich - Had an effort from a Harrison pull back from the left but it hit the post. Booked for a foul on Harrison Reed. Won possession well on a few occasions. Had a late effort blocked when he didn’t strike it too cleanly. 6/10
Pablo Hernandez - Off injured after two minutes. N/A
Leeds on the wrong end of Hernandez's early injury and a penalty given for the most gentle of pushes by White on Decordova-Reid but no fluency in that performance. So many misplaced passes. #lufc
— Phil Hay (@PhilHay_) December 21, 2019
Jack Harrison - Excellent through ball to put Stuart Dallas through on goal on 23 minutes. Then, an excellent pull-back 30 seconds later which lead to Klich hitting the post. Barely saw the ball in the second half, did create a good chance for Klich though. 6.5/10
Patrick Bamford - A couple of good runs in behind in the opening 15mins. Did well on the rare occasions it was knocked long to him in the first half. Kept making runs but only able to get in behind once in the first half, his effort blocked for a corner. Had a header over from a Phillips set-piece but it was a difficult chance. Dropped off the front a bit once Nketiah came on. Right place, right time for the equaliser. Exactly what you want from him. 7/10
Fulham 2-1 Leeds FT:
— LUFCDATA (@LUFCDATA) December 21, 2019
First defeat in 12 matches
Six consecutive defeats in London
1 win in 9 league trips to Fulham
Pablo injury
Bamford's 10th goal of the season
Leeds have now won just one of our last 17 Championship matches in London. Capital Punishment. #LUFC
SUBSTITUTES
Ezgjan Alioski (for Hernandez, 3mins) - Came on at left-back early on. Solid enough first half. Switched to the right hand side for the second half. Excellent pass in the lead up to the equalising goal. Back to left back for the last 20 minutes. Booked for a late challenge on Cavaleiro. Decent strike from the edge of the box from a corner in the closing stages. 6/10
Eddie Nketiah (for Costa, HT) - His shot across goal was parried out to Bamford for the equaliser, good instincts to take the shot early. Got on the ball a bit more than previous appearances which helped a lot. 6.5/10
This Pablo Hernandez-esque through ball from Gjanni Alioski for Eddie Nketiah. Sublime. #LUFC https://t.co/47KDppxJmJ
— LUFCDATA (@LUFCDATA) December 21, 2019
Jordan Stevens (for Ayling, 72mins) - Unable to effect the game, very quiet. 5.5/10