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Leeds United continued their excellent run of form against the Super League elite, gaining a creditable 0-0 draw against Manchester United at Elland Road.
The first half was far from a classic and 0-0 seemed like the fair score at the break. Marcus Rashford had a good free-kick saved by Illan Meslier late in the half, and Leeds had a strong handball appeal against Luke Shaw (file under ‘seen them given’).
Second half was more of the same. Very little quality on show. This was not a great game, but it was an excellent result for Leeds.
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 LINEUP
Illan Meslier - Not tested until late in the first half when he made a good save from a Rashford free-kick. Made saves in the second half but none difficult. Claimed a few crosses when required. 7.5/10
Luke Ayling - Booked for a foul on Rashford when he slipped, Rashford would have been in behind though so probably a ‘good foul’. Some moments of poor quality on the ball but was excellent defensively and the errors were usually not in dangerous areas. 8/10
Diego Llorente - Excellent throughout. Read the game really well. Tough test today and the defence stood up to be counted. 8.5/10
Diego Llorente first half vs. Man Utd:
— LUFCDATA (@LUFCDATA) April 25, 2021
42 touches
32/37 successful passes
9 ball recoveries ( most)
4 duels won
2/2 tackles won
1 foul
Absolute rock at the back in the first half. #LUFC pic.twitter.com/2vEPm5kvzV
Pascal Struijk - Much like Llorente, very good throughout. Had to make more tackles than Llorente, where Llorente seemed to make more interceptions. 8.5/10
Struijk played a blinder today. Llorente too. Kalvin bossed Fernandes.
— Jez (@madmidweeker) April 25, 2021
Another clean sheet for Meslier too.
Well played.
Ezgjan Alioski - Not faultless but defended well enough. Didn’t show much when he did get forward. 7/10
Kalvin Phillips - Very good pressing both through midfield and higher up the pitch in the first half. Got the better of Bruno Fernandes consistently before the break. Second half, more of the same. Great ball to get Helder Costa in behind for one of Leeds’ few efforts on goal. Moved further forward for the last 20 minutes and did well there as well. Excellent performance, lots of battling and generally came out on top. 9/10
Kalvin Phillips vs. Man Utd:
— LUFCDATA (@LUFCDATA) April 25, 2021
84.8% pass accuracy
73 touches
39/46 successful passes
13 ball recoveries ( most)
11 ground duels won
8/8 tackles won ( most)
6/7 successful long passes
3 chances created
2/2 succ. take-ons
2 interceptions
2 clearances
Absolutely OUTSTANDING! pic.twitter.com/5iDFtqThPK
Helder Costa - Tracked Luke Shaw gamely in the first half but didn’t always do the best job of it. Switched with Harrison for the second half, presumably for this reason. Not much went right on the ball for him either today, had one decent shot deflected over. 5/10
Tyler Roberts - Barring two moments, very quiet. Booked for a foul when chasing back. Didn’t offer enough on the ball today. Worked hard off the ball. 6/10
Stuart Dallas - Not his best first half, a bit sloppy. Better in the second half. As with a few, better off the ball than on it. 6.5/10
Jack Harrison - His one chance to really do something in the first half he produced a really poor cross - lead to a decent handball appeal but a good cross would have had Costa in acres of space in the box. Tracked his man well in both halves defensively but offered very little at the other end. 5.5/10
Patrick Bamford - Isolated up top. Lead the press but Man Utd were able to play past it most of the time. Lots of running and did offer a threat when he could, but that was few and far between. 6/10
SUBSTITUTES
Ian Poveda (for Harrison, 68mins) - Lively, but the way the game was going wasn’t likely to get much chance in attacking areas. Always found a man with his passes. Did his prospects no harm. 6/10
Matuesz Klich (for Costa, 71mins) - Came on in the middle. Pressed well. Solid on the ball. 6/10
Robin Koch (for Roberts, 76mins) - Took over the Bruno Fernandes marking job. Did well on and off the ball. Gave another midfield option and gave Kalvin Phillips a break. 6/10