Leeds Player Ratings: Leeds 1 - 0 Reading. Another solid win as Leeds extend gap to third.

Leeds United were comfortably the better side as they won 1-0 against Reading FC at Elland Road.

The game wasn’t a great one and the high winds had an effect on the quality of the football. Leeds missed a few chances before former Spain international Pablo Hernandez scored the only goal in the 57th minute.

The main worry for Leeds was Kalvin Phillips going off with an injury in the first half, but the man himself has said on Instagram that it was “just a dead calf”, so hopefully he is fine for the trip to Middlesbrough on Wednesday.

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 much to do all game. Made a decent save from George Puscas from distance and a really good save in the last minute to deny Liam Moore. Came out for one through ball in the first half and didn’t get there. 7/10

Luke Ayling - Played well at right-back getting up and down the right hand side well. Moved into centre-back after Phillips’ injury and looked comfortable there as well. 7/10

Ben White - Another moved by the Phillips injury. Completely untroubled while at centre-back and then had his best performance in the “Phillips Role” once he moved there. Brought the ball out in both roles very well throughout. 7.5/10

Liam Cooper - Played well throughout, tackled and headed the ball well. Did get beat by Liam Moore for the chance at the end but that was his only issue of the game. 7/10

Staurt Dallas - Played well in the full-back role on both sides of the pitch. Didn’t shine in attack as much as on some occasions but a good performance. 7/10

Kalvin Phillips - Forced off in the first half through injury. Wasn’t having his best day before that. He missed a few too many tackles which gave Reading the chance to break. He then got his eye in and made three excellent tackles, the last of which appeared to cause his injury. Hopefully nothing serious. 6/10

Helder Costa - He’s getting closer to hitting his form I think. Showed some moments of really good skill to beat his man down the wing but his final ball was inconsistent. Chased back well when he needed to. Did set up a couple of chances from wide and set up Hernandez for the chance which then lead to the goal. Had a really good chance in the fist half with lots of time and missed the target - should have done better with that one. 6.5/10

Mateusz Klich - All action once again. Won the ball well and found a teammate with his passes consistently. Had a couple of decent efforts on goal. Kept John Swift out of the game which stifled Reading’s creativity. Good display. 7.5/10

Pablo Hernandez - Hasn’t been at his best recently but improved to day and rewarded with a goal. It was a good finish after showing determination to get through after the initial effort was blocked. Had quite a few efforts on goal throughout and was involved in most of Leeds good play. A few good performers today but the goal sees him pip them to be Man of the Match. 8/10

Jack Harrison - Wasn’t as involved as Costa on the other side but was more consistent when he was. Excellent through ball to set up Ezgjan Alioski for a good chance late in the first half. All the hard work we expect and some good skill down the left on a few occasions. 6.5/10

Patrick Bamford - Not a good day for Bamford. His finishing wasn’t there yet again and some of his link-up play, which is usually very good, left a lot to be desired. 5/10

SUBSTITUTES

Ezgjan Alioski (for Phillips, 38mins) - Good energy down the left and broke into the box to have one good effort on goal. Stood up well defensively and won as many in the air as you could expect given the height disadvantage he had. 6.5/10

Jamie Shackleton (for Hernandez, 85mins) - Came on and provided a bit of extra energy in the midfield for the last few minutes. Had one good break but his pass to Bamford was poor. N/A