Leeds United suffered their second defeat of the season and were knocked off top spot in the Championship after losing 3-1 to Cardiff City.
Leeds player Mateusz Klich
Noel Whelan has told BBC Radio Leeds that he would not have picked Mateusz Klich in the Leeds midfield for their clash with Cardiff on Tuesday despite his brilliant performance against Burnley one week ago.
Klich has endured a mixed time since arriving at Elland Road in the summer. He appeared to be low down Thomas Christiansen’s pecking order as he went into the League Cup clash with the Clarets having not started a Championship game.
However, the Poland international was excellent at Turf Moor to help the side knock their Premier League opposition out of the competition, and that performance surely must have done his cause plenty of favours ahead of the game against the Bluebirds with Eunan O’Kane out of the side due to illness.
But Klich endured a difficult evening against Cardiff, making the mistake that led to the opening goal and generally struggling to stamp his authority on the game.
And while Whelan was not too negative about his performance, he insisted that he would not have picked Klich for the game had he been in charge.
“He was steady. I wouldn’t say he did anything particularly great tonight, he got on the ball for a couple of good passes but he wouldn’t have been my choice in that central area,” he told BBC Radio Leeds.
“Yes he answered a few questions for me against Burnley but that’s a very open game. This was a lot different, this is a Championship game, very physical out there, we need more from him.”
With O’Kane out of the side, the selection was an ideal opportunity for Klich to move himself away from Ronaldo Vieira in the pecking order, but he missed that chance. And with Vieira clearly boasting a huge amount of potential, it could perhaps be argued that Klich’s appearance even saw him fall down the pecking order rather than elevate himself further.
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