Leeds United are still winless in their Premier League campaign thus far as they suffered defeat to West Ham on Saturday afternoon.
But it wasn’t all doom and gloom, the first half display was probably the best half of football Leeds have played all season, but they definitely tailed off in the second half which allowed West Ham to come back. Here are our player ratings for Leeds United vs West Ham.
Ilian Meslier- 9/10
If there was one player who didn’t deserve to lose on Saturday, it was Meslier. The Frenchman was excellent in front of goal, making incredible saves to deny Antonio and Benrahma in the first half. Meslier has arguably been Leeds’ best player this season.
Jamie Shackleton- 7/10
Jamie Shackleton rarely disappoints in his cameo appearances, but on Saturday he proved that he is good enough to be a Premier League starter. He could arguably be considered at fault for the second goal, but he was left to mark 2 players on his own and put in some decent passing and considerate work rate overall.
Charlie Cresswell- 8/10
This was Cresswell’s Premier League debut, but from this game alone you’d have no idea. He was confident on the ball with the sort of assured confidence that most have to build up over a few months at this level. His physicality meant he mostly kept Antonio quiet up until the final minute. Leeds have a brilliant young defender in their side.
Liam Cooper- 7/10
Cooper has had his fair share of criticism since Leeds got promoted to the Premier League, but there’s not much you can fault him for on Saturday. He made his fair share of challenges and helped to guide young Cresswell through his debut, as all great captains should.
Junior Firpo- 5/10
It’s been a rocky start for the former Barcelona full back since making the summer switch to Leeds and this game was no different. He seems to be getting a better understanding of the system overall going forward, but the question marks surrounding his defending remain. He was massively out of position for the first goal, which led to Bowen being able to find enough space to drive into the box and fire a shot off Firpo into the goal.
Kalvin Phillips- 6/10
Last week, we said that Kalvin Phillips always gives you at least a 7/10 performance, but in this game he failed to do so. His long passing was uncharacteristically poor which led to West Ham being able to press further up the pitch in the second half. Leeds never managed to get a foothold in the second half as a result, in what was a strangely average performance from the Yorkshire Pirlo.
Raphinha- 9/10
Raphinha was the only outfield player who looked like making something happen for Leeds, which is even more commendable when it’s evident he’s nursing a muscle injury. His goal was a moment of pure quality, and every time he went forward Leeds looked dangerous. When he made way for Roberts in the second half, Leeds lost any cutting edge they had and never once looked like scoring.
Stuart Dallas- 5/10
Stuart Dallas has not performed to his usual standards so far this season and we aren’t quite sure why. Last season’s player of the year struggled to make any impact on the game, although he did come close to scoring in the first half. Hopefully, this is just a blip and we can get back to seeing the old Stuart Dallas soon enough.
Mateusz Klich- 6/10
Klich will shoulder some of the blame for this loss, as he missed a glorious chance to give Leeds a 2-0 lead midway through the second half, which likely would’ve put the game to bed. Other than that, he was decent enough with his passing and link up play which led to him getting the assist for Raphinha’s goal.
Dan James- 6/10
Dan James didn’t really do much wrong in this game, but it’s hard to give a player who only played the first 45 any higher than a 6/10. He looked dangerous on the break and was arguably unfairly taken off, but he didn’t really contribute anything substantial to the game either.
Rodrigo- 7/10
Rodrigo’s first half performance was one of his better displays for the club. Leeds’ record signing was pressing hard and dropping deep whenever necessary and was one of the key reasons Leeds could get Raphinha so involved. His darting run down the channel is what led to the opening goal. He dropped off a bit in the second half, but he certainly can’t be accused of not trying.
Jack Harrison- 3/10
Jack Harrison played 45 minutes of this game and didn’t really do anything. His passing and crossing was questionable at best, although this was his first game since returning after a positive Covid-19 test, so a janky performance is to be expected.
Tyler Roberts- 3/10
It’s been a long time since Tyler Roberts put in a good performance for Leeds and fans are beginning to lose their patience. For a long time now, fans have claimed that ‘there’s a player in there’ but at 22 years old he has to start showing it, and performances like this one are certainly not good enough.
Cysencio Summerville- N/A
Summerville didn’t really have enough time to make an impact.
