Leeds United were pushed all the way by Championship opponents Birmingham City in the fourth round of the FA Cup, ultimately requiring penalties to move on.
Sean Longstaff stepped up to fire home the decisive spot-kick, sealing progression for the Whites after a tense and hard-fought clash.
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With his position under scrutiny, Lucas Perri delivered a timely response, making a series of crucial saves during the match and in the shootout to ensure there was no upset at St Andrew’s.
Several Leeds players produced underpar performances. However, a few are now fighting for their future at Elland Road, with Ao Tanaka looking like one of them who could leave at the end of the season.
Ao Tanaka is struggling to make an impact for Leeds United
The 27-year-old midfielder was one of the best players in the Championship last season and was considered one of the best signings Leeds ever made.
However, injuries early in the season meant that he lost his place in the team, and Ao Tanaka has not started a Premier League game for Leeds since the end of December.
He was an unused substitute in the last three league games, and the start against Birmingham was seen as an opportunity for him to display his quality again.
Tanaka was definitely better than some of his other teammates, and it was not a poor performance. However, he was substituted by Joel Piroe in the 78th minute.
It was a steady performance without any remarkable moments. The midfielder didn’t produce anything to convince Farke to start him in the Premier League.
He is seemingly suffering from a lack of confidence, and not even getting on from the bench in the last three league games seems to have affected him.
Tanaka is one of those Leeds players who could be looking to move on from the club during the next summer transfer window.
He was alright against Birmingham, but not great
The midfielder’s passing was steady against Birmingham, but he didn’t do enough to create chances against the Championship side on Sunday.
Tanaka produced one key pass, but there were no assists, and his passing was a little below par compared to his usual standards.
Ao Tanaka vs Birmingham – Match Performance Breakdown
A detailed statistical look at Ao Tanaka’s passing and creative contribution
during Leeds United’s clash against Birmingham.
Statistic Ao Tanaka
Assists 0
Key Passes 1
Crosses (Accurate) 0 (0)
Accurate Passes 30/36 (83%)
Passes in Opposition Half (Acc.) 10/13 (77%)
Passes in Own Half (Acc.) 20/23 (87%)
Long Balls (Accurate) 1/3 (33%)
He misplaced passes and failed to find his man as consistently as he would have, and the performance was nothing more than steady.
Tanaka needed to do more to ensure he would be in Farke’s thinking when he selects the team against Aston Villa at Villa Park on Saturday.
With the Japanese international struggling, there is now a real chance that the midfielder will leave Leeds at the end of the season to rekindle his career somewhere else.