Leeds United suffered a shocking home defeat to ten men Preston at Elland Road on Tuesday night in the EFL Cup second-round tie. However, the Whites were determined to bounce back and maintain the unbeaten streak in the Championship despite hosting Middlesbrough, their closest promotion contenders, who grabbed four back to back clean sheets and were only behind the Whites on goal difference. Boro, managed by Tony Pulis, exhibited their usual defensive approach along with occasional long balls, crosses and set-piece threats but could not break the defensive resilience of the hosts who also failed to break the deadlock despite forming some counter-attacking threats. The game eventually ended 0-0 and Leeds retain their top of the table spot for the time being.
Below are the Leeds United players rated in their draw against Middlesbrough.
Bailey Peacock-Farrell: 8
The young custodian delivered yet another steady display between the sticks. He was confident with his outings, distribution and also made some smart saves, in both halves.
Gaetano Berardi: 7.5
Was clumsy with his tackles but did a fair job in central defence to contain Britt Assombalonga who was often a threat with his strong physical presence. Got injured towards the end and was replaced by Pontus Jansson for the final few minutes.
Liam Cooper: 7
Returned to action after recovering from a hamstring strain but looked untidy at times. Committed a few fouls in dangerous positions and struggled against Daniel Ayala and Aden Flint who were persistent threats from set-pieces. But he led his side to a clean sheet as the Whites fought hard together against a big and physical outfit.
Barry Douglas: 7
Another routine display from the summer recruit who did not allow the visitors to trouble from the left and made occasional forward runs to link up with Alioski.
Kalvin Phillips: 6.5
The youngster took time to settle in and found it hard against Boro’s veteran midfield duo Adam Clayton and Jonny Howson. But the homegrown talent improved his display after the break as he kept on providing defensive cover when required and also took part in the build ups for attacking movements.
Jack Harrison: 6.5
Started the game in place of the injured Pablo Hernandez. The young Manchester City loanee showed glimpses of his quality down the right flank as he opened up the Boro backline a few times, particularly in the first half and also combined well with fellow attackers high up the pitch. Looked worn out towards the end and got replaced by Stuart Dallas in closing seconds.
Samuel Saiz: 6.5
Looked purposeful whenever he had the ball. His fast movements were often creating space in Boro midfield, but the Spaniard should work on his shooting traits.
Mateusz Klich: 7
The Polish midfield star has redefined himself under Marcelo Bielsa and earned an international call-up for his stunning display since the inception of the new campaign. He was running box-to-box and also tried to link up with the wide attackers as well as Roofe upfront to break down a resilient Boro backline.
Ezgjan Alioski: 6
The Macedonian international made a few impressive movements from the left but failed to create anything spectacular to alter the scoreline.
Kemar Roofe: 6
Was well-contained by young Boro centre-back Dael Fry as the in-form forward had very few touches of the ball. Was replaced by Patrick Bamford in closing seconds.
Substitutes
Pontus Jansson: NA
Played too little to warrant a rating.
Patrick Bamford: NA
Played too little to warrant a rating.
Stuart Dallas: NA
Played too little to warrant a rating.
