Matthew Pennington got a rare appearance in the Championship on Saturday in the dramatic 4-3 defeat to Millwall – and Leeds United fans on Twitter raved about his performance.
The 23-year-old defender was introduced to the action in the first-half after captain Liam Cooper was shown a straight red card.
Thomas Christiansen’s side fought back from 2-0 down to take a shock 3-2 goal led despite having a man less.
However, the Yorkshire giants saw their efforts crushed late on at Elland Road as Millwall produced two late goals to win the thrilling Championship clash.
The results means that Leeds have now slipped down to 10th in the league standings and are three points adrift of the play-off spots.
Leeds fans on social media raved about centre-back Pennington despite their side’s defeat and have suggested he is a better option than Cooper.
The Whites skipper Cooper will now serve a four-game ban due to his second dismissal of the season and that could leave the door open for Pennington in the starting XI.
This Is Futbol has rounded up some of the best tweets:
https://twitter.com/thescottmjones/status/954750785488814083
https://twitter.com/LMLFinney/status/954751091098386432
How well Pennington done #lufc
— lucas kel (@kel392) January 20, 2018
Pennington has been class today!! @LUFC
— Øisten Olsen (@SirOlsen) January 20, 2018
Pennington looks premier league today. No just stay put mate! #lufc
— Mathew Walker (@mattywak) January 20, 2018
https://twitter.com/gbell93/status/954755433629147138
https://twitter.com/TheMichaelGale/status/954762508425932800
https://twitter.com/Mr_Tasker/status/954764792899756033
https://twitter.com/Dazelar29/status/954793548842446848
Pennington has played second fiddle to Cooper and Pontus Jansson so far this campaign in the battle for the centre-back positions.
The Englishman is currently on a season-long loan at Elland Road from Premier League side Everton and could become increasingly important in the next few weeks.