Jaka Bijol
Leeds United wrote Premier League history on Monday evening, ending a 45-year winless run at Old Trafford with a 2-1 win over Manchester United.
Jaka Bijol was among the key players in the win, standing firm at centre-back for the 90 minutes up against national teammate Benjamin Sesko.
It was a big moment for the 27-year-old, who arrived in the summer and has had to wait to convince Daniel Farke this season. Now he appears to have done so, and a big performance at Manchester United will have only helped that.
A strong first half
The win 2-1 win came courtesy of a big first half performance in which Leeds United pressed high and relentlessly, seemingly catching Manchester United off guard.
Farke’s side forced the home side into numerous mistakes, allowing Noah Okafor to score twice in the first half an hour to give Leeds United a commanding position at half time.
Jaka Bijol was certainly impressed, admitting they took advantage of Manchester United’s recent extended break.
“We played a really great first half,” he’s quoted as saying by Slovenia’s Ekipa.
“On the other hand, United had not played for 25 days, which is probably a bit noticeable, because the training sessions are not the same. We were right this time, this is an important win for us, important three points.”
Slovenia clash
Key to the win was keeping Benjamin Sesko quiet throughout the game. That was a task Jaka Bijol was particularly proficient at.
While the Slovenian striker was a threat, he only really came close to getting his name on the scoresheet once. That was dealt with well by Leeds United goalkeeper Karl Darlow.
Bijol knew what he needed to do to ensure his international teammate didn’t get the better of him.
“Beni also had one good chance, if he had scored, we would probably have talked a little differently,” he added.
“But that’s how football is, sometimes he gives you, sometimes he takes a little away. Sometimes it’s better not to jump with Beni, because when he jumps, sometimes I only see a shadow (laughs).
“I think we played really smart, in the second half we suffered a little unnecessarily. But maybe that’s why it’s even sweeter.”
‘Subconscious fear at Leeds United’
Leeds United looked on course for a more comfortable evening when Lisandro Martinez was sent off in the 56th minute.
Instead, that red card appeared to galvanise Manchester United, with Casemiro’s header getting them back into the game in the 69th minute.
That saw a lively final 20 minutes as Manchester United pushed for an equaliser and Leeds United sat back. Ultimately, that proved to be a tactic which worked.
It was tense for Daniel Farke’s side, though, who have now moved away from the relegation battle. And Jaka Bijol admits there was an undercurrent of fear.
“We had top performances on the road, but we lost a lot of points at the end. That is also why we had a subconscious fear this time that we would concede a late goal,” he concluded.