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Leeds Player Ratings: Leeds 0 - 1 Swansea

A game where you could think “how did we lose?” However, after last season, we know exactly how.

Leeds United v Swansea City - Sky Bet Championship Photo by Athena Pictures/Getty Images

Leeds United were comfortably the better side but gave away a sloppy goal to lose 1-0 at home to now top of the league Swansea City.

Marcelo Bielsa’s side had several good opportunities but missed the target with their shots leaving Freddie Woodman with little to do. Leeds were also wasteful in wide positions far too often before Wayne Routledge was left in acres of space in the Leeds penalty area following a corner, his finish sending the Swans fans into raptures in the West Stand.

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 - Only had one real save to make from Matt Grimes which bounced awkwardly but he tipped it around the post. Distribution was fine and could do nothing about the goal. 6.5/10

Stuart Dallas - Good on the ball and got up and down the right well. He got turned a couple of times by Bersant Celina but that is understandable given his ability. Produced two of Leeds’ best chances with crosses for Bamford and Nketiah respectively who both should have done better. 7.5/10

Ben White - Really good once again. His anticipation lead to a few interceptions which got Leeds into some good positions. Was also strong in the air and made a couple of good tackles when necessary. 7.5/10

Liam Cooper - Hit the bar with a towering header just before half-time. Did his defensive duties well. Not as composed as White but looked even better in the air. 7/10

Ezgjan Alioski - Had Leeds first two opportunities but couldn’t capitalise. Picked up a yellow in the first half for a poor challenge on Yan Dhanda. Won lots of tackles but wasn’t at his best going forward. 6.5/10

Kalvin Phillips - Won more tackles than anyone else on the pitch and showed great strength to hold people off in tight areas. A couple of sloppy passes at times but did well to dominate in midfield while clearly carrying an injury. 7.5/10

Adam Forshaw - Passing was not at his usual levels and he wasn’t able to have as much impact in forward areas as he has in recent weeks. Shares the blame for giving away the needless corner which lead to the goal with Jack Harrison. 6/10

Mateusz Klich - Fairly quiet day on the pitch and it wasn’t a shock when he was substituted. Didn’t do a great deal wrong but he had no real impact today. Looked frustrated with his performance as much as Leeds failure to score. 5.5/10

Pablo Hernandez - Lost the ball on fewer occasions than in previous weeks but didn’t have the same outrageous impact that we saw last weekend against Stoke City. Had a few opportunities to score but could have had more if he hadn’t wanted too long on the ball on a couple of occasions. 7/10

Jack Harrison - Got into a lot of good positions and worked hard but he was far too wasteful with his crosses. Gave away the corner which lead to the Swansea goal when he could easily have dealt with it. 6/10

Patrick Bamford - Missed a great headed chance that he seemed to head against his own shoulder. Some really good hold up play up against two good centre-backs in Mike Van Der Hoorn and Joe Rodon. 6/10

SUBSTITUTES

Eddie Nketiah (for Bamford, 61mins) - Immediately caused problems with his pace and had an early shot, but wasn’t able to get involved enough in the play. Had a great chance from a Dallas cross which he will be disappointed to have missed. Leeds needed more than they got from Bamford, Nketiah was level at best. 6/10

Helder Costa (for Klich, 72mins) - Much like Nketiah - his pace caused Swansea issues. Passing was good and he created a few opportunities with both that and his ability to beat opposing players. Definitely the pick of the substitutes and could be in line for a start after the international break. 7/10

Barry Douglas (for Alioski, 83mins) - Not on long enough to score, N/A