Leeds drew 1-1 with Nottingham Forest in the early kick-off on Saturday, a result that keeps their unbeaten run going at the start of the season but was a big disappointment to fans at Elland Road.
Leeds took a deserved lead through Pablo Hernandez in the 59th minute but Marcelo Bielsa’s men squandered a lot of other good chances, which allowed Lewis Grabban to bundle in the ball 13 minutes from time for a share of the spoils.
The equaliser wasn’t without controversy either as Grabban clearly fouled Liam Cooper in the build-up to the corner that Forest scored from.
Marcelo Bielsa said it was two points lost and it’s tough to argue with that judgement.
Here are the three things we learned from Leeds’ second game of the season.
1. Same old, same old
According to Sofascore, Leeds had 68% of the possession, 15 shots to Forest’s six and four on target to Forest’s one. But it’s the graphic that shows attacking momentum that lays bare the Leeds dominance.
Leeds had plenty of chances to win the game, most notably from Patrick Bamford, who hit the woodwork and put a shot agonisingly wide with Forest goalie Arijanet Muric fully committed. He really should have scored that one and while there was a genuine grievance over the Forest equaliser, Leeds should have already won the game by that point. This was the story of last season too and it should be a real concern for Bielsa.
2. White is the real deal
One good thing from the game was the performance of centre-back Ben White, 21. He looked impressive in the first game of the season against Bristol City and was just as good against Forest. According to Wyscout, he made 105 total actions during the game with a 76% success rate. He made 75 passes (67 of them accurate), three interceptions and four clearances. In WhoScored’s match rating he was awarded the second-highest score, behind the magnificent Mateusz Klich. They might have missed the height of Pontus Jansson at set-pieces but White is a terrific centre-back.
3. Changes needed
Eddie Nketiah wasn’t included in the matchday squad after his deadline-day move from Arsenal. He may well feature in the Carabao Cup game against Salford on Tuesday and he could be exactly what the team needs. He’s a goal-scorer and Leeds need a player who can finish off the chances that they’re creating week-in, week-out. Nketiah has scored prolifically for the Arsenal youth sides and he has three in 19 for the Arsenal first-team. Bielsa should play him on Tuesday against Salford where the youngster can hopefully get off the mark against weak opposition, before being given his Championship debut against Wigan next week.