Mark Lawrenson has taken a dig at Leeds United’s pitch in his column for BBC Sport, saying that he has heard it being described as a surface which plays like it has been treated by olive oil.
Leeds played on their newly laid turf at Elland Road for the first time on Wednesday evening against Everton, but the issues with the playing surface were still evident.
Leeds’ players were struggling to keep their footing, as they fell to a 2-1 defeat against Everton.
And Lawrenson feels that Leeds now need to perform better at home, if they are to pick up more victories, ahead of their game against Crystal Palace on Monday evening.
“Leeds are always a good watch but they will have to do better on their new pitch than they did against Everton,” he said.
“I heard it being described afterwards as ‘looking like it had been treated with olive oil’ which I thought was a great line – but as Leeds manager Marcelo Bielsa said, his players were slipping and Everton’s weren’t.
“Leeds don’t seem able to defend at the best of times but what might help them get a clean sheet this time is that Crystal Palace forward Wilfried Zaha is a major doubt with a hamstring injury.”
Leeds boss Marcelo Bielsa actually complimented the pitch after the game, and felt it was an improvement on the previous surface at Elland Road.
The hope is that once the turf has settled in for a while it may become easier for players to keep their footing in time.
The Whites’ defeat against Everton was a disappointment though, as it halted their run of two successive wins.
Leeds are now in 11th place in the Premier League table, but a win against Palace could launch them into the top half.
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