Speaking recently on a video for Leeds Live, Beren Cross discussed the performance of Leeds United winger Raphinha in the Whites’ recent victory over Fulham.
Since joining Leeds from Stade Rennais last October, Raphinha has proven himself to be something of an inspired signing for Marcelo Bielsa’s side, with the 24-year-old scoring six goals and providing five assists over his 24 Premier League appearances, as well as averaging a highly impressive SofaScore match rating of 7.16 – ranking him as the Whites’ second-best performer in the top flight.
However, in the club’s recent 2-1 victory over Fulham, despite scoring one goal, making four key passes and earning a SofaScore match rating of 7.6/10 for his display against Scott Parker’s side, Cross, speaking on a video for Leeds Live, stated his belief that the £58,000-per-week winger was rather ineffective against the Cottagers.
He said: “Apart from his goal, Raphinha was barely in the game. When he was in the game in the second half, he either overplayed it or shot wide.”
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TIF Thoughts on Beren Cross’ comments regarding Raphinha…
As previously stated, Raphinha’s SofaScore match rating of 7.6 in the clash with Fulham ranked the Brazilian as Bielsa’s second-best performer on the night – second only to Patrick Bamford, who ended the game with a goal and an assist.
However, perhaps the winger’s goal did inflate his rating somewhat, as the 24-year-old also lost possession of the ball 16 times in the match, in addition to finishing the 90 minutes with a pass completion rate of just 63% and losing six of his 11 duels.
Having said that, ultimately, Raphinha’s goal did win the game for his side – so perhaps, even if he wasn’t at his best against Fulham, it could be argued that Bielsa will not be too concerned with the winger’s overall level of performance in the fixture.