Noel Whelan raved about Leeds United central defender Pascal Struijk on BBC Radio Leeds (7:40pm, September 12, 2020) for his performance against Liverpool.
The former Leeds striker, who now works as a pundit for BBC Radio Leeds, was impressed with how the 21-year-old – who can also operate as a defensive midfielder – held his own against the Liverpool attackers on Saturday evening.
The Whites suffered a 4-3 defeat at the hands of the Reds away from home at Anfield in the Premier League.
Whelan also praised Leeds centre-back Robin Koch on his competitive debut for Marcelo Bielsa’s side despite him giving away a penalty.
Whelan said on BBC Radio Leeds (7:40pm, September 12, 2020): “I thought a good acquisition. He seems very comfortable on the ball. Obviously, you’re not going to be defending against a Van Dijk week-in, week-out, but I think he needs to get better at that.
“But he has not been here long. I think everyone needs to work on certain things defensively when it comes to set-pieces.
“I think having Cooper back in the side will help, even though Struijk, I thought, had an excellent game today considering he’s up against a formidable front-three. I don’t think he did much wrong.”
Stats
According to WhoScored, Struijk had a pass accuracy of 88.1%, won one header, took 81 touches, and made four tackles, three interceptions and 11 clearances.
Koch took one shot which was not on target, had a pass accuracy of 83.3%, won three headers, took 78 touches, and made three tackles, two interceptions and four clearances, according to WhoScored.
Leeds will return to Premier League action next weekend when they take on Fulham at Elland Road after facing Hull City at home in the EFL Cup on Wednesday.
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