Leeds United reporter Joe Donnohue has tipped Rodrigo to get the start for Marcelo Bielsa’s side tonight in the Premier League, with Joe Gelhardt set to settle for a place on the bench.
The Spaniard has taken something of a step back this season in terms of production. Having bagged seven in all competitions during 2020/21, that number has dropped to just three so far this term.
His latest goal was also something of a lucky effort, as his cross-cum-shot managed to loop over the head of David de Gea to give him his first goal since October, although whether or not it was enough for him to keep his place in the side moving forward is still another issue given the options available to Bielsa.
Speaking on the Liverpool-focused Blood Red podcast ahead of the game tonight, Donnohue discussed the various options that Bielsa has to choose from, and he ultimately believes the Spaniard would get the nod, in part due to the performance he put in against Manchester United at the weekend and his impact on midfielder Mateusz Klich.
He said: “There’s debate up front, who do you play? Do you play the young scouser, Joe Gelhardt? Or do you play the more experienced Rodrigo? Or do you go with the false nine with Dan James? There’s a few options there.
“I’d like to see Joe Gelhardt start because there’d be a nice narrative around it. But I think most likely we’ll probably see Rodrigo continue in that striker role because he was quite a good foil for Mateusz Klich at the weekend. Klich got, I think, seven shots off, which kind of implies that Rodrigo was occupying those central defenders.”
TIF Thoughts on Joe Donnohue’s comments about Leeds United’s Rodrigo…
Has Rodrigo flopped at Leeds?
Yes!
No!
As Donnohue points out, there are a number of options for Bielsa to choose from.
And it does make sense that Leeds would keep things ticking over in an attacking sense, as they managed to get away 16 shots in total last weekend – more than their opponents – with Klich indeed getting away seven as Donnohue mentioned (via WhoScored).
And whilst they obviously weren’t totally successful as they only managed to get two goals out of it – one of them being incredibly lucky – it shows that they can cause teams problems when they attack the way they were able to against Manchester United, including bringing midfield players into the mix as well.
Let’s just hope that his goal at the weekend has sparked him into life and that he can start finding the back of the net on a regular basis.
In other news: Exciting: Leeds fans will be purring as footage of loanee emerges