Leeds Player Ratings: Leeds 1 - 1 Derby

Leeds United shot themselves in the foot once again in the early kick off at Elland Road, to snatch a draw from the jaws of what should have been a really easy victory.

This time it was Derby County who were gifted a draw despite being really poor for pretty much the entire game. Leeds only managed to break the deadlock through a Max Lowe own goal as they missed chance after chance in the first half. The first 35 minutes Leeds were utterly fantastic and could have been 4/5-0 ahead.

In the second half Patrick Bamford hit the post and Mateusz Klich missed a penalty (not saved, missed) but in truth the second half performance was awful from Leeds. There was no pressing, no movement, no energy, none of the qualities you associate with a Marcelo Bielsa side were on display. The only performance worse than Leeds’ 2nd half, was Derby’s second half.

However, as Leeds made more and more of a meal of the performance you could sense that Leeds were going to make a bollocks of it, and they duly did in stoppage time when Chris Martin equalised in stoppage time.

Derby did not deserve an equaliser in any way, shape, or form. However, Leeds deserved to concede an equaliser for their truly crap performance in the 2nd half.

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 - Not at fault for the goal. Made a mess of coming for a cross on one occasion. Has had better days with his distribution. Nothing to do for most of the game. 6/10

Stuart Dallas - Leeds’ best player for me. Got up and down the right hand side well all game and was one of the few who seemed to have any energy. Had a good effort saved which lead to the Lowe own goal and had another couple of decent efforts. First half excellent, second half alright. 7.5/10

Ben White - A picture of calmness once again. Didn’t give the ball away and was able to step in and win the ball on plenty of occasions. 7/10

Liam Cooper - Similar to Ben White but won the ball back less and won more balls in the air. 7/10

Ezgjan Alioski - Had a good first half at left-back. A bit unlucky at times when he could have received the ball in a good position but a pass wasn’t forthcoming. Excellent ball over the top to put Bamford through on goal but the chance was missed. Less good 2nd half, performance dropped again when he moved forward to left-wing. 6.5/10

Kalvin Phillips - Won a lot of really good tackles in the middle of the park and didn’t give the ball away much. Set-pieces were of a good standard all game. In the last 15 minutes he suddenly seemed to lose his player a lot and got a bit sloppy - Including two back to back attempts at clearing the ball forward, both of which went behind him and ended up giving away a cheap corner. 7/10

Jamie Shackleton - Didn’t give the ball away much but really didn’t impose himself on the game at all. If there was one player that you could have forgot was on the pitch, it would have been Shackleton. No errors either, just quiet. 5/10

Pablo Hernandez - Excellent first 20 minutes before his mercurial powers seemed to wain. Was still involved in a lot of Leeds good play. He was missed once he was removed from proceedings, although that may have been more down to his replacement. 6.5/10

Mateusz Klich - Oh Mateusz, never miss the target with a penalty. Passing was good, and won a lot of tackles - particuarly for someone playing in such an advanced role. First half was very good. Loses a whole point for missing the target with a penalty. 6.5/10

Jack Harrison - Had the worst crossing accuracy in the league going into this game, that accuracy was lowered today I can be certain. Got into lots of good positions and wasted them consistently. Also looked absolutely out on his feet after 40 minutes. Had one good effort from distance. There is no doubt he can do better than this but it is time for Helder Costa to start (despite Costa’s performance today). 4.5/10

Patrick Bamford - Held the ball up quite well. His link-up play dropping off the front was really good. His pressing in the first half was excellent and forced so many mistakes to get Leeds winning the ball high up the pitch. Won a few good flick-ons, won Leeds a penalty with some excellent play. Knackered after an hour and maybe should have been subbed a little bit earlier for that reason. Hit the post with one chance he should score, lobbed another great chance over the bar. Finishing aside, really good, but he wears number 9 and therefore the finishing is an issue. 6.5/10

SUBSTITUTES

Helder Costa (for Harrison, 58mins) - Didn’t do as much wrong as Harrison. However, he was not involved in the game nearly enough. 5.5/10

Barry Douglas (for Hernandez, 73mins) - Brought on to make the left-side more secure. Gave the ball away with his first two touches and Leeds looked more vulnerable with him at left-back than with Alioski there. Goal came down his side. 5/10

Eddie Nketiah (for Bamford, 79mins) - Barely touched the ball. Leeds fell back so it really wasn’t suited to him. Couple of nice touches. 6/10