Leeds United journalist Joe Donnohue gave his thoughts on the performance of Raphinha following their latest game in the Premier League.
Whilst this Leeds side under Marcelo Bielsa has become known for their entertaining style of play, the game that they played last night took entertaining to a whole new level.
In a back-and-forth affair, in which there were a total of 28 shots, Leeds United led and came from behind to draw 3-3 at Villa Park in a pulsating game. However, one player who didn’t seem to be at the races was the Brazilian.
And it appears as though his performance got to the 25-year-old himself, as taking to Twitter, Donnohue observed that after the game, his body language didn’t exactly lend itself to someone who was happy with what he produced:
TIF Thoughts on Joe Donnohue’s comments about Raphinha at Leeds United…
Was this Raphinha's worst Leeds display?
Yes
No
The stats on the night certainly back up Donnohue’s claim.
Raphinha only managed to get away one shot, while he completed just 66% of his passes – well below the team average of 83%. Elsewhere, he was only successful with one of his five dribble attempts and failed to make either a tackle or an interception (as per WhoScored).
Given what Raphinha has done for the club so far this season in leading them in terms of goals and contributing two assists, whilst also leading the team in shots, key passes and dribbles per game (via WhoScored), having the odd match where he’s not up to his best can perhaps be forgiven.
You just have to hope that it doesn’t become a regular thing, because Leeds are far from safe in the Premier League and they might need him to play a big part in proceedings between now and the end of the season to make sure they stay in the top flight for another year.
In other news: Shocking: Leeds ace criticised after losing possession a whopping 23 times