Gerry McNamee of LS11, a Leeds United focused YouTube channel, has been discussing Luke Ayling during a recent video following the club’s defeat earlier this week at the hands of Leicester City.
The Foxes defeated Marcelo Bielsa’s side 4-1 meaning they returned to the East Midlands with all three points, condemning the Whites to their third league defeat of the campaign. During Monday night’s fixture, Luke Ayling was involved in an incident where he appeared to take a dive under pressure from Leicester’s Christian Fuchs to try and win a penalty but despite his efforts, Andre Mariner, the referee on the night, didn’t buy it.
When reviewing the fixture, McNamee discussed the incident with Ryan Wilson and here is what he had to say:
“If you ever look at [Jack] Grealish, he sticks his leg in, it’s very clever the way they do it. [Ayling] was naive, he got his timing all wrong and he was lucky to get away with that.”
Do you think Luke Ayling was fortunate to escape punishment?
Yes
No
TIF Thoughts on Gerry McNamee’s comments regarding Luke Ayling’s dive…
According to WhoScored, the right-back’s overall display on the night earned him a somewhat disappointing performance rating of 6.39/10. His average rating in the Premier League so far this season stands at 7.06/10, making him Leeds United’s fourth most consistent performer.
Taking that into consideration, it could be argued the 29-year-old had an off night versus Brendan Rodgers’ side and having in our view, clearly dived, we agree with McNamee when he says the full-back was fortunate to escape punishment.