Noel Whelans suggests Pierre-Michel Lasogga’s omission from Leeds side against Cardiff was biggest surprise

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Thomas Christiansen caught many Leeds United fans by surprise by replacing Pierre-Michel Lasogga with Kemar Roofe for the trip to Cardiff City.

Kemar Roofe

Noel Whelan told BBC Radio Leeds ahead of Leeds’ trip to Cardiff that the decision to pick Kemar Roofe up front ahead of Pierre-Michel Lasogga was the most surprising call Thomas Christiansen made.

The Whites boss sprung a few surprises ahead of the game against the Bluebirds, with Roofe, Mateusz Klich and Stuart Dallas coming into the side, while Lasogga, Conor Shaughnessy and Samuel Saiz were among those to drop out of the team.

Thomas Christiansen

And ahead of the contest – which Leeds would go on to lose 3-1 on a pretty poor night for the high-flyers – Whelan suggested that the call to play Roofe up front and leave Lasogga on the bench was somewhat baffling.

“Well, it is for me,” he told BBC Radio Leeds when asked whether Roofe’s selection ahead of Pierre-Michel Lasogga was the biggest surprise from the Leeds starting lineup.

“I think with Lasogga and the way he’s come in and started at Leeds United and the goals that he’s got in the bank already, I’m very surprised that he’s not leading the line and it looks like Roofe is going to take that role this evening.”

Whelan’s concerns were certainly justified as Leeds comfortably lost against Neil Warnock’s men to be knocked off top spot in the Championship.

Roofe struggled to get into the game when playing as a striker, often looking isolated when leading the line and ultimately resorting to dropping incredibly deep to get onto the ball during the latter stages of the first-half.

The former Oxford United man did get onto the scoresheet, but that goal only came after Jay-Roy Grot had come on and moved up top, allowing Roofe to drop back into an attacking midfield role where he looked a lot more influential. But by that point, the game was almost definitely gone.