Noel Whelan said on BBC Radio Leeds (10:04pm, December 5, 2020) that Leeds United winger Ian Poveda did not play well against Chelsea last night.
The former Leeds striker, who now works as a pundit for BBC Radio Leeds, could not understand why head coach Marcelo Bielsa brought on Poveda for Jack Harrison in the second half.
Harrison, on loan from Manchester City, started for the Whites in their Premier League game against Chelsea away from home at Stamford Bridge in London on Saturday evening.
In the 57th minute, Leeds head coach Bielsa decided to replace the 24-year-old with 20-year-old winger Poveda. The Whites lost the match 3-1.
Whelan said on BBC Radio Leeds (10:04pm, December 5, 2020): “That one I didn’t understand because it was very early to make that kind of decision. It didn’t seem like Harrison was injured, it didn’t seem like he was losing any kind of speed or he wasn’t getting in the game, he was still available.”
The Englishman added: “Poveda didn’t offer anything really when he came on. He had that one shot, he couldn’t really get into the game, he was getting outmuscled on the ball, didn’t have the effect he had when he had come on in other games as a substitute.”
Jack Harrison and Ian Poveda Stats
According to WhoScored, Harrison took one shot which was not on target, had a pass accuracy of 90%, took 39 touches, attempted two dribbles, made two tackles, and put in three crosses.
Poveda took one shot which was on target, had a pass accuracy of 66.7%, took 21 touches, attempted one dribble, and put in one cross, according to WhoScored.
Leeds are 13th in the Premier League table at the moment with 14 points from 11 matches.
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