
Leeds United’s stuttering start to the season continued on Friday night as they once again failed to win. Leeds are unfortunately still yet to win a league game this season.
The whites took the lead early on as intelligent play from Rodrigo meant a deep cross from Raphinha snuck its way into the net. Newcastle struck back on the brink of half time thanks to a well taken goal from Allan Saint-Maximin. Both sides missed a gluttony of chances as the second half remained goalless.
Ilian Meslier- 8/10
Meslier was called upon many times during this game and was a key reason that Leeds even walked away with a point. He almost got his hand on the Newcastle goal, but unfortunately couldn’t keep it out.
Stuart Dallas- 5/10
Dallas is at his best when playing in centre midfield and he wasn’t nearly as effective as usual when playing at right back on Friday night. Dallas went down far too easily as he lost the ball for the attack that would lead to Newcastle’s goal.
Luke Ayling -5/10
It has to be pointed out that Ayling was asked to play centre back due to the injuries of Robin Koch and Diego Llorente and the suspension of Pascal Struijk. However, he still didn’t put in a great performance and almost cost Leeds the game with some sloppy play in the final stages.
Liam Cooper -6/10
None of Leeds’ backline could deal with Allan Saint-Maximin but Cooper looked especially shaky whenever the Frenchman had the ball. He put in a few good challenges but still wasn’t fantastic.
Junior Firpo -4/10
Firpo is still getting to grips with the Premier League and Bielsa’s system but the Spaniard was poor in this game. His general play was sloppy as he gave the ball away on numerous occasions and also missed a glorious chance to put Leeds back in front just before halftime.
Kalvin Phillips -7/10
Phillips was one of a few players who put in a solid performance against Newcastle. You can always expect a consistent level of performance from Kalvin and he showed it here as he kept Willock completely out of the game.
Raphinha -7/10
The Leeds goal scorer always looks dangerous whenever he has the ball, despite his goal coming from a cross. Raphinha was uncharacteristically poor with his decision making in the final third but was still looking like the player most likely to make something happen for Leeds.
Rodrigo -7/10
This was easily Rodrigo’s best performance of the season so far. He was finding tonne’s of space between the lines and was the catalyst for any attack coming through the middle of the park. His finishing was as poor as it has been in other games this season, although he wasn’t alone in that regard.
Mateusz Klich -6-10
There was a time where Klich would guarantee you a 7/10 performance every week but he failed to provide that on Friday night. He wasn’t poor by any means but he didn’t really do anything all too impressive either.
Dan James- 5/10
James was mostly ineffective in this game which is a shame, as you would think the open state of the game would mean he could put his pace to good use. Instead, James offered little in the way of end product- although he should have won a penalty in the first half as both the referee and VAR made yet another questionable decision against Leeds.
Patrick Bamford -5/10
Bamford is yet to score a league goal this season and this game showed why. Little in the way of actual service didn’t help, but when he was put clean through he sent a poor shot straight into the arms of the goalkeeper with his right foot. We will need to see more from Bamford if he wants to keep his England place.
Tyler Roberts -4/10
Surprising nobody, Tyler Roberts came off the bench and made little impact on the game. He was poor with his passing and crossing and never really looked like threatening the Newcastle goal at any stage.
Crysencio Summerville -5/10
It was a proud moment for Summerville as he made his Leeds United debut as a second half substitute for Raphinha. Summerville didn’t do too much in the game but the intent and hunger was there to see. A few nice flicks were on show as the 19 year old showed no fear in his first Premier League game.
Jamie Shackleton -N/A
Shackleton didn’t have a sufficient time on the pitch to make any impact.
