Leeds started the day in 10th place. They had won just once in five and had just been well and truly beaten 4-1 by league leaders Wolves earlier this week. So, Leeds knew that a win was necessary when they travelled to Barnsley if they were to keep their promotion hopes alive. A win for Leeds could have seen the move as high as 6th by the end of the day, while a loss could have seen them move as low as 14th.
The first half saw Leeds dominate much of the game. Barnsley struggled to create anything, largely because their passing was at times, woeful. This saw Leeds take the lead on 23 minutes due to some below average keeping. Leeds would go in at halftime 2-0 up after dominating much of the half.
Barnsley had much more possession throughout the second half. However, Leeds defence held strong and they came away with a 2-0 victory.
Here are the Leeds player ratings out of 10.
Felix Wiedwald: 7/10
The Leeds keeper had little to do in the first half. His biggest problem was probably the sun which was solved when a Leeds supporter gave Wiedwald his cap.
Wiedwald faced a few more shots on goal in the second half. He did well with the majority of them.
Luke Ayling: 7.5/10
Ayling’s first real action of the game was getting booked on 15 minutes for simulation. Other than that his first half was pretty solid as he made a few good tackles and helped keep the game at 2-0.
Ayling spent much of the second half defending well for Leeds and keeping Barnsley at bay. He put in a solid display and got the assist for Leeds’ second goal.
Pontus Jansson: 6.5/10
Jansson picked up a yellow card inside 3 minutes after stopping a Barnsley counter-attacking by fouling an attacker. The defender then nearly let Barnsley through on goal on 18 minutes but he made a good recovery tackle. Jansson came close to getting sent off in the second half due to his aggressive tackling, which could have cost Leeds.
Liam Cooper: 7.5/10
Cooper had very little to do in the first 45. The little he had to do, he did well. He had a solid second half as he made several tackles, clearances and won aerial duels, including a block in the 90th minute inside his own six-yard box which denied Barnsley a very likely goal.
Gaetano Berardi: 7/10
Berardi linked up well with Hernandez down the left in the first half. But he too had little to do. He made an excellent clearance in the 78th minute to stop Barnsley from scoring.
Kalvin Phillips: 7.5/10
Philips picked up the ball on the edge of the box on 26 minutes, his shot was poor. His overall first-half display was solid though as he made a number of excellent tackles.
Phillips commanding display continued into the second half as he continued to dominate the midfield and make several key tackles.
Eunan O’Kane: 6/10
O’Kane also made several hard-hitting tackles in the first half to break up Barnsley attacks. He was then subbed off in the 59tth minute after picking up a knock.
Ezgjan Alioski: 9/10
Alioski had a good chance to put Leeds 1-0 on 10 minutes when Barnsley keeper was well out of position. Unfortunately, his shot went wide of the target. Ezgjan then did well to find Saiz in space for Leeds first goal.
He then doubled Leeds United’s lead at the end of the first half as he curled a superb shot from the edge of the box into the bottom corner.
Alioski was subbed off in the 88th minute. The winger was certainly Leeds’ best player today.
Samu Saiz: 8.5/10
Saiz opened the scoring for Leeds after running past several defenders before powering a shot past Barnsley’s keeper who should have done better.
Saiz started the second half very well. He used his quick feet to work his way to the by-line before crossing the ball. But no Leeds player could connect. He also linked up play well throughout the game.
Pablo Hernández: 7/10
Hernandez caused Barnsley’s right back all sorts of problems in the first half. However, through all his dominance he didn’t carve out any really good chances.
Hernandez played an excellent through ball to Ekuban in the 60th minute. However, the striker failed to hit the target. His overall display was decent but it was by no means his bets in a Leeds shirt.
Caleb Ekuban: 5.5/10
Ekuban found some space inside the box inside the first minute of the game. But his shot was blocked. Other than that Ekuban’s first half was poor and he was barely involved in the game.
Ekuban was then played through in the 6oth minute before hitting the side netting. He should have done a lot better. The striker was then subbed off in the 80th minute. His overall display was poor. And the one big chance he had, he missed.
Substitutes
Connor Shaughnessy (59th minute): 6/10
Shaughnessy came on for O’Kane in the centre of midfield and he pretty much mirrored O’Kane’s display. He made several key tackles and played an important role in Leeds keeping a clean sheet.
Kemar Roofe (80th minute): 3/10
Roofe was only on the pitch for 10 or so minutes and in that time he had little impact on the game.
Jay-Roy Grot (88th minute): 2/10
Grot, like Roofe, had little time to make an impact, hence the low rating.
