Leeds United dropped two valuable points in the race for promotion from the Championship, drawing 1-1 at home to West Bromwich Albion. The Whites had plenty of opportunities to win the game, but failed to take them, and ultimately looked off the pace on a sunny Saturday lunchtime at Elland Road.
Daniel Farke’s side took the lead early in the game thanks to a header from Junior Firpo. He met Daniel James’ cross at the near post, heading into an unguarded net after Baggies’ goalkeeper Joe Wildsmith rushed out to meet the cross. Firpo beat him to it, heading home in the 9th minute.
Just half an hour later, Tony Mowbray’s side equalised thanks to a header of their own. West Brom right-back Darnell Furlong was the man who pulled things level, ghosting to the back post from a free-kick, heading into the back of the net completely unchallenged.
The West Yorkshire side had chances to win the game in the second half and peppered the West Brom goal, but ultimately could not find a winner. The draw means Leeds are now unbeaten in an impressive 17 games in the Championship, and are still in the box seat for the title.
With that being said, it was a disappointing day at the office for Leeds, who had some standout players despite the draw.
Leeds' best players v West Brom
On a day that Leeds should have scored more, their attackers underwhelmed to a certain extent. However, there were several standout performances at the back, one of which came from Joe Rodon.
The Welshman made life tough for the Baggies attackers, throwing his body on the line and keeping Leeds level. Yorkshire Evening Post journalist Graham Smyth gave him an 8/10 for his efforts, and praised him for “some late defensive heroics” to earn Leeds a point.
Another player who performed well for the Whites was goalscorer Firpo. The former Barcelona star is a key man down the left flank, and Saturday was no different. Aside from his goal, he worked hard off the ball and was also a source of creativity.
Firpo’s stats on Sofascore are indeed impressive. The Leeds No 3 had 59 touches in total, creating two chances on top of getting on the scoresheet. Off the ball, he also made five clearances.
It was a good showing from some of Leeds’ defenders, but their attackers did struggle, including one player in particular.
The Leeds star who struggled against West Brom
Out of all the Whites attackers, the one who perhaps struggled more than any was Brenden Aaronson. The 24-year-old, who played as a No 10, struggled to get into the game and didn’t have much of a creative influence for Leeds.
Smyth was fairly critical of the United States international. He gave Aaronson a 3/10 rating at the end of the game, explaining he was “too anonymous for almost all of his 72 minutes”, adding that he “didn’t have an impact” on the game.
The stats certainly back that up. Leeds’ No 11 had just 29 touches against West Brom, which is fewer than goalkeeper Illan Meslier. He also had a passing accuracy of just 73% and lost the ball nine times.
Stat
Total
Touches
29
Pass accuracy
73%
Possession lost
9
Passes completed
11/15
Ground duels won
4/9
Aerial duels won
1/4
Chances created
2
Perhaps there is concern amongst Leeds fans that Aaronson will not be able to cut it in the Premier League. Despite their dropped points, it does seem like Leeds are heading for promotion back to the top flight this term.
However, Aaronson’s form of late might be a bit of a worry. He now has just one goal involvement in his last 11 games, and despite hitting patches of form in the second tier, he has arguably not been consistent enough this term.
He is also yet to score or assist against the top six of the Championship heading into the game on Saturday.
This might be an issue going forward. If the last few seasons are anything to go by, Leeds will likely be battling relegation as a promoted club next year.
They will certainly need Aaronson to be more consistent if they are to have any chance of survival, but performances like this must have Farke mulling over his long-term future.