Leeds United fail to capitalize on their good form and make it five wins in a row as they slump against bottom club Birmingham City 1:0 at St. Andrew’s.
Jacques Maghoma’s clinical finish proved to be the difference between the two sides at the end, as the visiting Leeds once again fail to keep up their consistency.
It was a bitterly disappointing performance from the Whites, who didn’t play to their full potential in order to unlock the sturdy defence of Birmingham City, who will be delighted to have snatched all three points against Thomas Christiansen’s men.
Here are the Leeds United players rated in their disappointing defeat against Birmingham City.
Felix Wiedwald (6.5/10): Got overwhelmed by Jota’s piledriver in the second half, which he could only parry as the rebound was headed home by Maghouma for the only goal of the match.
Luke Ayling (7/10): Not the greatest of games for Ayling, who was dispossessed twice and failed to provide any real attacking input from the right-hand side.
Pontus Jansson (7.5/10): A decent performance at the back, from the 28-year-old Swedish defender, who won no less than six aerial duels as well as making a couple of crucial blocks but failed to stop Maghouma from scoring the winner in the 84th minute.
Liam Cooper (7/10): Could’ve fared much better in central defence, where he got largely overwhelmed by the brave attacking trio of Birmingham City.
Gaetano Berardi (7/10): Completed the most number of passes than any other Leeds United player but failed to provide the telling input, which could’ve tilted the fortunes of his team against this highly disciplined Birmingham side.
Conor Shaughnessy (7/10): His relatively tall figured helped him win a lot of aerial duels in the midfield, 11 in total, which is only bettered by Birmingham forward Sam Gallagher. However, the Irish midfield wasn’t effective with his passing nor his incision into the final third.
Kalvin Philips (6.5/10): Wasn’t much involved in the centre of the action but somehow managed to take three shots. Was rightfully replaced by Klich later on in the game.
Pawel Cibicki (7/10): Looked composed on the ball but failed to contribute much to the attacking department before being subbed off in the second half.
Ezgjan Alioski (6.5/10): The English playmaker struggled to impose his dominance as he often pegged back by the highly disciplined Birmingham defence.
Pablo Hernandez (7.5/10): Showed glimpses of his talent at times, especially after the introduction of Samuel Saiz in the second half, the 32-year old formed a threating attacking duo with the English attacker, which caused a lot of trouble for the opposing defence.
Kemar Roofe (6.5/10): Completely failed to make his presence failed as he was given very little space to work with by the Birmingham defence.
Substitutes
Samuel Saiz (8/10): His introduction in the second half made a huge difference as the 26-year-old was involved in few of Leeds’s most promising chances. However, it mattered very little at the end, largely thanks to a focused defensive unit of Birmingham City.
Mateusz Klich (7/10): Made a rare appearance 22 minutes from time. His presence offered more dynamism in the centre of the park.
Pierre-Michel Lasogga: Was brought on for the final few minutes of the game, in a desperate attempt to score a goal against the sturdy defence.
