Leeds United have five points from their opening three Premier League games and are sitting eighth in the Premier League table.
The Whites created enough chances in the first half against Brighton to win the game at Amex. However, ultimately they had to settle for a 1-1 draw after the home side took the initiative after the break.
Leeds signed seven new players in the just-concluded summer transfer window, and their recruitment has already earned widespread praise for the way they invested in the squad without blowing up the market.
However, the arrival of new players has added more pressure on established first-team stars, and one of them realised on Saturday that he is no longer an automatic starting-eleven man for Leeds.
Leeds United star under pressure after Brighton
Joe Rodon will miss more than two months of action after picking up a hamstring injury in the 1-1 draw at Brentford last weekend, and that is a major blow for the Whites.
Nico Elvedi was always expected to get into the starting eleven, and Daniel Farke has conceded that he feels lucky that Leeds signed the Swiss centre-back in the summer.
However, no one expected Elvedi to replace Jaka Bijol, who has been an integral part of the team since he joined Leeds last summer for a £15m fee.
The Swiss centre-back played at the heart of the three-man defence with Tarik Muharemovic and James Justin on either side.
Bijol losing his place in the team is a shock, with Farke now preferring Elvedi and James over the Slovenian in the starting eleven.
The defender replaced Jayden Bogle at the hour mark to add more solidity to the Leeds defence as Justin moved to the right-back slot.
However, Bijol is undoubtedly facing some competition for his place, with Elvedi impressing in the Leeds side and bringing valuable experience from playing at the highest level.
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Nico Elvedi has looked a class apart
Leeds chased Nico Elvedi all summer, and signed him from Borussia Monchengladbach once it became clear that Sebastiaan Bornauw was returning to Germany.
Elvedi is a huge upgrade on Bornauw, and Farke hasn’t had to worry too much when Rodon was ruled out for a couple of months, as he had the Swiss’ experience to fall back on.
The 29-year-old centre-back looked brilliant on his debut in the EFL Cup win over Nottingham Forest, when he showed his quality against a physical striker like Chris Wood.
He seemed calm and composed against Brighton and made a few decisive tackles when Brighton were piling on the pressure in the second half.
It may be a while before Bijol returns to the team with Justin, Elvedi and Muharemovic looking assured at a tough ground like th Amex Stadium.
