Leeds fans have taken to Twitter to heap praise on Luke Ayling for his performance in the 3-0 win over Aston Villa on Friday evening.
Marcelo Bielsa’s captain on the night delivered a fine display alongside Robin Koch at centre-back, away from his usual position of right-back where Stuart Dallas was deployed instead.
Ayling was instrumental in Leeds keeping a clean sheet at Villa Park.
The 29-year-old pulled off a vital goal-line clearance to preserve his side’s clean sheet, while also recording three blocks against Dean Smith’s men as WhoScored shows.
The Leeds No.2 also contributed one tackle and one clearance, while nine of his attempted 17 long-range passes found a teammate.
No other player on the pitch completed more long passes, apart from Villa’s Emiliano Martinez.
Additionally, Ayling completed one key pass and won two freekicks at Villa Park, where he and Koch were simply superb alongside one another.
SofaScore shows that the former Bristol City defender did give possession away on 13 occasions, although that is merely part and parcel of Bielsa’s high-risk, high-reward style in which daring passes must be made.
Leeds now sit third in the Premier League, level on points with reigning champions Liverpool and three points off Everton, who are top.
Let’s see what the Leeds fans on Twitter have been saying about Ayling’s display…
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