Leeds United got to face Newport County for the first time at Rodney Parade, courtesy of the FA Cup on Sunday, and Thomas Christiansen took the opportunity to experiment with his team.
However, the experiment didn’t work out as he team suffered a shock 2-1 defeat to send them crashing out of the tournament courtesy of their League Two opposition.
Gaetano Beradi had put Leeds in front but an own-goal from Conor Shaughnessy and a header from Shawn McCoulsky in the second-half ensured a cup upset took place.
There was more bad news in defeat for the Whites as Samuel Saiz received a red card and now faces a suspension.
The Whites boss switched to a 4-4-2 formation and made nine changes from the team that drew with Nottingham Forest on New Year’s Day.
The only players to keep their places in the team was Gaetano Beradi and Kalvin Phillips, but Beradi did find himself playing at centre-back rather than right-back on Sunday.
With several changes to the team, Leeds were unable to overcome their League Two opponents to qualify for the fourth round of the FA Cup, suffering a surprise 2-1 defeat.
As several faces featured that are not regularly seen in Leeds’ Championship side, it was an opportunity for players to make a case to start Whites’ next game against Ipswich Town.
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