Leeds United owed their victory to two much maligned players this season.
Leeds United got a vital victory under their belts on Sunday when they overcame Middlesbrough 2-0 at Elland Road. However it was not their usual top performers who scored the goals, but a duo that has come in for their fair share of criticism in recent months.
Ezgjan Alioski may have impressed in his early weeks at Elland Road but he quickly tailed off and, despite his goal against Brentford, he headed into the latest international break with more critics than champions.
So it was telling that the Macedonian scored what proved to be the winning goal for Leeds on Sunday, after an opener from a player who has flattered to deceive for much of the campaign.
Pablo Hernandez had not scored a league goal since early September, with summer signing Samu Saiz taking over as Leeds’ Spanish maestro, leaving his countryman to occupy the role of odd one out.
But this time round it was Hernandez who stole the headlines, suggesting that whatever Leeds boss Thomas Christiansen has done during the international break, it has stuck firmly in the minds of those players left behind.
Leeds have such a big squad these days that some of their bigger names were always going to struggle to make their mark. However, on this evidence, those who previously attracted criticism could be about to prove those doubters wrong and get their own individual campaigns back on track in the process.
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