Leeds journalist Beren Cross has named two players who were particularly poor in the club’s opening day defeat to Manchester United.
Robin Koch and Pascal Struijk both started in Leeds’ 5-1 loss at Old Trafford in the Premier League and the pair were criticised by Cross for the part they played in the disappointing result.
While speaking on a Leeds United Live Facebook Live stream, Cross joked that Bruno Fernandes ‘almost retired’ Koch, while Struijk was culpable for a couple of the opposition’s goals.
He said: “Koch and Struijk today, not good enough at all, for me. I think I gave them 3s in the ratings.
“I mean, Fernandes almost retired Robin Koch, it was just horrible to watch, at times, because he just could not get a handle of him.
“Struijk was caught on two occasions for two of the goals. The first goal, he was looking over his shoulder and Fernandes got in behind him. The second goal, Greenwood got in behind him, effectively.”
TIF Thoughts on Robin Koch, Pascal Struijk, and Leeds…
Manchester United enjoyed a perfect start to the season as Leeds put up little defence, not only allowing Fernandes to grab a hat-trick, but also letting Paul Pogba match the Premier League record for most assists in a game.
Koch and Struijk will hope to get back up to the levels they showed in the previous campaign. Both players were singled out for praise by their manager after a notable win against Spurs last term – so it remains to be seen whether Saturday’s performance was a blip or a sign of things to come, having clearly shown their quality in Leeds colours.
Despite a stunning equaliser from Luke Ayling, Marcelo Bielsa’s men only held the score at 1-1 for three minutes before succumbing to a flurry of goals which all came in the following 16 minutes.
Leeds will therefore likely hope key man Kalvin Phillips can return to the side next week and help restore the quality which saw the club finish ninth last season.