Leeds United, despite early promises, slowed down a bit in recent weeks amid injury woes and fatigue. They, however, grabbed some momentum of late but had a sterner contest this afternoon at Bramall Lane against Sheffield United when they clashed heads for the 81st Yorkshire derby. Both the teams, fighting out to earn a Premier League promotion, were eyeing a result to keep pace with fellow contenders. But the game took a massive turn towards the end when a costly error from Blades keeper Dean Henderson resulted in a Leeds goal as the Whites claimed their third win on the bounce after a dismal 4-1 defeat to West Brom before the international break.
Below are the Leeds United players rated in their crazy win against Sheffield United.
Bailey Peacock-Farrell: 7.5
The young custodian came up with a strong performance despite a string of erroneous outings in recent games. He made a couple of crucial saves and managed to grab a clean sheet to ensure three huge points in back to back games in spite of a late scare when Conor Washington hit the woodwork in closing seconds.
Stuart Dallas: 8
Struggled to settle in a makeshift fullback role but proved to be match-winner against Reading on Tuesday night. Dallas was impressive once again as he kept on creating chances from the right flank with timely crosses, long-range efforts and link-up play. Also won duels, defended well and delivered a balanced display at both ends of the pitch.
Pontus Jansson: 8.5
A towering display in central defence on his return from a brief injury spell. Jansson led the backline in the absence of the skipper Liam Cooper and fought incredibly well in closing minutes when the Blades were looking to equalise.
Liam Cooper: 6
Started the game strongly but was forced to leave the pitch with an early injury blow. Youngster Aapo Halme replaced Cooper in deep defence.
Barry Douglas: 7
Used his experience to defend deep when needed and also showed his intelligence while making overlapping runs, crosses and combining upfront.
Kalvin Phillips: 8
The young academy graduate mostly confined himself defensively and marshalled the backline while operating in the ‘hole’. He was combative, won many duels and broke down many moves restricting the hosts from building the game up in the middle of the park.
Pablo Hernandez: 8.5
The Spaniard made no mistake in his finish as he capitalised on Henderson’s howler. Was majestic throughout with his runs, creative movements as well as hard work that allowed the Whites to dominate the show away from home.
Adam Forshaw: 7.5
Impressed with his great passing technique, tackles and timely interceptions. Was dispossessed a few times but kept on operating from the deep with crucial blocks, clearances and physical presence.
Mateusz Klich: 7
The Poland international forced Henderson to make a decent save and had a couple of successful dribbling attempts that troubled the Blades. Drew fouls and also battled it out to win duels against a combative opponent.
Ezgjan Alioski: 5.5
Was not making much of an impact from the left as he did not have many touches and got dispossessed frequently. Was replaced by teenager Jack Clarke who played a crucial role in Leeds’ massive victory this afternoon.
Kemar Roofe: 5.5
Was far from impressive and looked isolated high up the pitch as he offered little in build-ups. Had a few decent one-twos which, however, were not notable enough to impact the scoreline.
Substitutes
Aapo Halme: 7
The youngster dealt the pressure well, threatened from set-pieces and delivered once again since coming on as an early replacement for skipper Liam Cooper.
Jack Clarke: 7.5
The teenager looked lively since coming on, forced Henderson into making a great save early in the second half and combined well with Hernandez on many occasions. Kept his head cool to find the Spaniard inside the box who made no mistake in scoring the only goal of the game in closing minutes.
