Leeds United‘s win against Bournemouth was an incredibly tight affair, leaving a packed Elland Road bouncing under a blanket of fireworks blazing across the night sky. Find out the Leeds United player ratings from the fans after an incredible duel against the Cherries.
Leeds United Player Ratings vs Bournemouth
📸@brucerollinson pic.twitter.com/AgDQOtVcXl
— Graham Smyth (@GrahamSmyth) November 5, 2022
First-Half Horrors
Before discussing what the game turned into, the first half can’t be ignored. Crysencio Summerville kicked off the match in a promising enough fashion, bursting down the left and drawing a foul in the box to provide Rodrigo with a penalty to coolly slot home. Then things started to fall apart.
The Cherries’ first goal came from an all-too-common issue with Leeds United this season. Pascal Struijk found himself slightly too high up the pitch, causing the rest of the back four to shift over one player. This left Marcus Tavernier all alone at the back post, sliding the ball past Illan Meslier’s outstretched hand. Struijk has shown promise this season and is arguably one of the better centre-backs at Elland Road, so signing a left-back with a little more positional awareness could improve the entire backline.
Bournemouth’s second also comes from Tavernier having a chance in a one-on-one against the Whites’ Franch goalkeeper. Meslier kept the first effort out, demonstrating his strength against attackers when on his own. However, his save bobbled back out to the black and red shirt, with Phillip Billing putting the chance in the back of the net. 2-1.
Second-Half Saviours
Wilfried Gnonto was Jesse Marsch’s choice at half-time, replacing a lacklustre Jack Harrison. Sam Greenwood joined him shortly afterwards as Leeds looked to take the initiative, with the young striker-cum-midfielder acting as a better attacking option than Marc Roca. After going 3-1 down to a Dominic Solanke tap-in, something had to change, and these two made sure it did.
Sam Greenwood scored the second goal for the Whites, tucking a first-time finish into the far corner to bring the game back to life. His assist for the third was another excellently struck ball, temptingly floating into Liam Cooper at the back post. By the time Willy Gnonto broke away in the final minutes and placed a beautiful chance on a plate for Crysencio Summerville, Elland Road was bouncing. An incredibly important win.
There’s a lot to learn from this match, with the youth players having such a huge impact. With Jack Harrison falling out of form somewhat and Luis Sinisterra out injured, Gnonto and Summerville have proven themselves more than capable of a place in the first team. Whilst there is incredible talent at the top, the back-line is far more suspect. Hopefully, it won’t require a half-time change to solve all of the problems in every match from now on, and Victor Orta’s team can get some more depth in defensive positions in January.
Leeds United Player Ratings
- Tony Harrington (Referee) – 6.21
- Jesse Marsch – 7.02
- Illan Meslier – 6.43
- Rasmus Kristensen – 5.93
- Robin Koch – 4.93
- Liam Cooper – 6.31
- Pascal Struijk – 6.41
- Tyler Adams – 7.78
- Marc Roca – 5.59
- Jack Harrison – 4.40
- Crysencio Summerville – 8.64
- Brenden Aaronson – 6.99
- Rodrigo – 5.46
- Wilfried Gnonto (Sub) – 8.34
- Sam Greenwood (Sub) – 8.66
- Joe Gelhardt (Sub) – 6.34
- Luke Ayling (Sub) – 5.94
