Leeds United hosted Norwich City at Elland Road in the Championship on Saturday.
Noel Whelan has told BBC Radio Leeds’ pre-match coverage of Leeds’ Championship clash with Norwich on Saturday (broadcast on 16th December 2017 from 14:00) that he was surprised by Thomas Christiansen’s decision to leave Pablo Hernandez out of the starting lineup, but suggested Pawel Cibicki had earned the right to keep his place.
Leeds were dealt a blow when they 1-0 up against Aston Villa at the start of the month when Hernandez – who set up the goal – had to be taken off shortly before half-time. The Spaniard had been fantastic in the weeks leading up until the injury, so it seemed a major setback for Christiansen’s side.
However, Cibicki took full advantage when he got an opportunity against Queens Park Rangers, setting up Leeds’ second and undoubtedly looking much brighter than he had done in either of his previous appearances for the team.
Ahead of the game with the Canaries, Leeds were handed a boost with Hernandez back available. But Christiansen decided to keep faith with Cibicki, initially leaving Hernandez on the bench. And Whelan conceded that he expected the former Swansea man to return to the starting lineup on Saturday.
“Honestly, I thought he would have come straight in. I really did,” he told BBC Radio Leeds.
“I thought Hernandez would come straight in and Roofe go through the middle and he’d come back onto this left-hand side but look, you’ve got to go with the manager and you’ve got to go with the player that’s put in a good performance.”
The decision was arguably vindicated as Leeds picked up an important 1-0 win to keep themselves within touching distance of the division’s top six, and Cibicki played a crucial role in Pontus Jansson’s winner, providing the assist.
Leeds’ next game comes next Saturday as they take on Hull City at Elland Road, and Cibicki will be hoping that he has done enough to keep his place.
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