Former Leeds ace Jonathan Woodgate believes Adam Forshaw was ‘the best player on the pitch’ at times during Sunday’s 4-2 defeat to Premier League rivals Manchester United, speaking to BBC’s Match of the Day 2.
There was mud and blood in the Elland Road flood.
But, after an almighty scare, Man United’s superior quality shone through in the end.
Bruno Fernandes’ Bergkamp-esque assist for Anthony Elanga and the most unexpected of match-changing cameos from the much-maligned Fred ensuring that those mad 24 seconds – in which Leeds cancelled out 2-0 deficit in the blinking of an eye – counted for nothing.
And if anyone summed up Leeds’ performance on a sodden Elland Road pitch, it was Forshaw. Throughout the first ‘45, the veteran midfielder was ragdolled by a rampaging Paul Pogba, swatted aside like an irksome bluebottle as Ralf Rangnick’s side sauntered into a 2-0 lead by half-time.
But as Leeds hauled themselves off the canvas, it was Forshaw who set the tone.
The 30-year-old lit the fuse for Leeds’ rapid-fire equaliser, snatching the ball off Fernandes’ toes before Raphinha converted an inch-perfect Dan James cross.
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“I think Pogba was dictating the game (in the first half). Forshaw at times found it hard to play against him,” says Woodgate, who started his career at Leeds before joining Newcastle in 2003.
“But when Forshaw went back to being the number six, he was the best player on the pitch. You can see some of his tackles and some of his interceptions.”
“Everything about Leeds’ game is about being relentless. They cover so much ground. I just thought it caught up with them in the second half when Man United made a double substitution.
“That’s when they started to go into fatigue.”
In four Premier League meetings with their cross-Pennine neighbours, Leeds have suffered three defeats by an aggregate score of 15-5.
Only bottom-of-the-table Norwich City have conceded more Premier League goals than Leeds (50) this season.
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