Ronaldo Vieira’s stats suggest teenager vindicated selection in Leeds’ derby day defeat

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Ronaldo Vieira was on the losing side as Leeds suffered a dramatic defeat, but he still shone.

Ronaldo Vieira may have been on the losing team in Leeds United’s defeat to Huddersfield Town on Sunday, but the teenager’s stats from the game suggest that Garry Monk made the right call in picking him for the derby.

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Eunan O’Kane shone in the midweek win over Blackburn, but Monk decided to put his faith in the 18-year-old and selected him to play alongside captain Liam Bridcutt for the clash at the John Smith’s Stadium.

Ronaldo Vieira of Leeds United (R) and Jonathan Hogg of Huddersfield Town in action

And while Leeds suffered a dramatic defeat, and were arguably second-best for most of the afternoon, Vieira deserves praise for his own display on an incredibly tough afternoon for the Whites.

The strength of Leeds’ midfield has been one of the key reasons for their success this term, so it was hardly surprising that the home side put so much emphasis on winning the ball back in the middle of the park. Their tactic often involved more than one player closing the ball down before the Leeds man on the ball had time to think.

That arguably makes Vieira’s performance all the more impressive as he often tried to show some composure on the ball in an attempt to create openings for his teammates.

While the fact that he found a teammate with 32 of his 44 passes suggests that his decision making could do with some work, it must be remembered that Huddersfield were exceptional at putting pressure on and no Leeds player made more successful passes.

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Meanwhile, he was just as combative as the opposition, winning four of the five tackles he contested. And no player on the pitch won more duels than the 12 that Vieira won throughout the game.

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On a day where Leeds were under pressure for much of the game, the 18-year-old demonstrated a tremendous amount of maturity, and while Monk may initially struggle to take the positives from the result, his decision to play Vieira over O’Kane was, on reflection, arguably a smart one.