Leeds United kept a crucial clean sheet in their opening fixture of the Premier League season, winning 1-0 at home to Everton on Monday night.
Daniel Farke had a point to prove coming back into the top tier, having failed twice with an underinvested Norwich City side.
His Leeds side faced David Moyes’ Everton to kickstart this Premier League campaign, and what followed was a statement of intent from United to win and get off the mark for the season.
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Leeds United’s centre-back duo Joe Rodon and Pascal Struijk dominate Everton forwards
The Toffees lineup boasted plenty of attacking quality and some impressive depth as well with new signings Thierno Barry and Jack Grealish on the bench.
Up front was an early-window target of Leeds’, 6ft4in striker Beto and he brought with him serious aerial threat and physical presence to test United’s back line.
(REUTERS/Scott Heppell)
Joe Rodon and Pascal Struijk started at centre-back with Jaka Bijol suspended and Sebastiaan Bornauw only just returning to fitness, and Leeds’ starting Championship duo passed their first test with flying colours:
Pascal Struijk Stats v Everton Joe Rodon
90 Minutes played 90
99% (69/70) Pass success 87% (47/54)
0/0 Ground duels won 1/1
2/5 Aerial duels won 3/6
8 Clearances 6
Aside from Struijk’s simply staggering pass success, those stats don’t look incredible on face value, but when compared to what Beto managed to muster up, it shows a job well done from the Whites duo to completely neutralise a handful of a striker with seven goals in 2025:
|Beto vs Leeds|
|---|---|
|Minutes played|90|
|Touches|22|
|Shots (on target)|1 (0)|
|Dribble success|0/1|
|Pass success|56% (5/9)|
|Ground duels won|1/3|
|Aerial duels won|6/14|
Jaka Bijol decision looms for Daniel Farke, and it’s brutal for one of Leeds’ three centre-backs
Watching on from the stands was Bijol, bizarrely suspended after a red card in his final game at Udinese last season.
The £15million Slovenian is likely seen as a nailed-on starter for Leeds in the long-term after catching the eye as a significant coup for United early in the summer.
However, as he returns to contention away at Arsenal this Saturday, there’s a seriously tough decision for Farke to make regarding his centre-backs.
(Action Images via Reuters/Craig Brough)
Who do you actually drop to get Bijol in this team?
Because if it’s a straight swap at centre-back, you’re having to incredibly harshly leave out one of Rodon or Struijk after both being imperious throughout on Monday night.
Or there’s the option to shift to a back five to soak up Arsenal pressure, which might be viable, but then forces you to sacrifice either one of the immense midfielders from last night, or one of the attackers that were a crucial outlet in the final third.
Decisions to be made for Farke, and I personally wouldn’t know where to start in terms of making it.
Let me know your thoughts in the comments below!