Leeds United suffered a tame 2-0 defeat against relegation rivals Burnley at Turf Moor on Saturday. The defeat exposed some of the glaring problems in Daniel Farke’s side, but Gabriel Gudmundsson again stood out amid the ruins of a poor performance and result.
Farke’s suffered a damaging defeat against one of their most prominent relegation rivals, and the team have now lost two of their last three games. The 2-0 defeat exposed some of the glaring frailties in the team while showing up some of the consistently wrong selections the manager has been making.
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Leeds looked every bit a side that could struggle to stay in the Premier League this season, after looking far more competitive in the first few fixtures of the campaign.
However, Gudmundsson again showed why Leeds signed him in the summer to shore up the left-back area, and put on another solid performance despite the overall poor showing of his teammates.
Gabriel Gudmundsson was the best Leeds United player on the pitch
Once Junior Firpo left Leeds on a free transfer, signing a left-back became a priority, and Gabriel Gudmundsson was the top and only target for the club last summer.
The Swede’s performance at the start of the season has shown why Leeds were desperate to take him to Elland Road in the last transfer window.
Leeds needed a more defensively assured left-back than Firpo in the Premier League, and Gudmundsson has provided that security in the full-back position.
His attacking game is improving, but the Swede’s defensive assurance has allowed Leeds to feel more secure at the back than they were with Firpo, previously in the Premier League.
He was Leeds’ best player in the 2-0 defeat at Burnley. A couple of poor defensive errors led to the home side scoring the two goals, but Gudmundsson was individually good again.
The Swede won his tackles, did well in duels and was not dribbled past even once. The left-back stood out in a poor Leeds United performance at Turf Moor.
Gabriel Gudmundsson is undroppable, but not some of his teammates
Gudmundssons showed at Turf Moor why he is one of the first names on Farke’s team sheets this season with a solid performance in the 2-0 defeat.
However, the Leeds manager must move away from his favourites and wield the axe to ensure his team wake up before it’s too late this season in the Premier League.
Pascal Struijk should not have played on Saturday after a few poor performances before the break, and Jaka Bijol should have been in the starting eleven.
However, the Leeds manager stayed loyal to the Dutchman, and he made another error that led to Burnley scoring the second goal to kill the game off.
Brenden Aaronson missed a golden chance against Burnley, but the Leeds manager chose to defend him rather than show his disappointment.
Injuries may not allow Farke to drop the American yet, but there is no evidence to suggest that he would have done it if Daniel James were fully fit.
Farke needs to bin his favouritism or risk losing his job at Elland Road as the 49ers will show no loyalty if Leeds’ Premier League status is in doubt.
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