Leeds United suffered an agonising defeat at home to Sheffield United on Saturday.
Noel Whelan has told BBC Radio Leeds’ live post-match coverage of Leeds’ defeat to Sheffield United (broadcast on 16/3 from 14:00) that Pablo Hernandez impressed him at Elland Road, suggesting that the Spaniard was instrumental in trying to make things happen.
Marcelo Bielsa’s side suffered an agonising loss at home to the Blades. Despite controlling much of the game, Leeds conceded a second-half goal from Chris Basham and were unable to make their own pressure count.
It will be an odd feeling for the Whites. They have been knocked out of the automatic-promotion spots and will be forced to stew on the loss for longer due to an international break. But the performance provided plenty of positives, and Whelan suggested that Hernandez’s display was one aspect of the game that pleased him.
“Instrumental in this team, he really is,” he told BBC Radio Leeds. “He’s the one that opened up quite a lot of the chances for Leeds in the first-half, in the second. Always on the ball, always busy trying to make things happen. There’s an energy about his game. There’s definitely a quality about his game.”
Hernandez really has enjoyed a remarkable campaign, scoring 10 goals and providing 11 assists in the Championship. No player has had a direct hand in more goals than the 33-year-old this term.
And every time he got onto the ball against Chris Wilder’s men, it looked as though he was going to make something happen, particularly during the first-half when he was gliding round the pitch.
If Leeds get themselves back above Sheffield United in the table by the time the campaign concludes, you can bet that Hernandez will have had a major say in Bielsa’s men bouncing back from what currently feels like a huge setback.
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