Should Leeds United fans be worried about Liam Cooper’s form?
Leeds United moved back into the automatic promotion places with a brilliant 3-2 win over Millwall at Elland Road on Saturday.
The Whites’ dramatic victory combined with Sheffield United’s surprise defeat meant that Leeds leapfrogged the Blades into second to take a two-point cushion with seven games left.
United boss Marcelo Bielsa has shown loyalty to a lot of players this season, but is it now time to be ruthless?
Despite the win, there are a number of things about the victory which simply cannot be ignored and one of them is Liam Cooper’s performance.
The Leeds captain was somewhat erratic and conceded the penalty which led to Bielsa’s side falling 2-1 behind midway through the second half.
Yes, Cooper has been a rock for the Argentine all season, evident by the fact that he made the Championship Team of the Season, but he was also quite poor in the defeat by Sheffield United just before the international break and Cooper is slipping into old habits at the worst possible time.
It might just be a blip, but Leeds have been absent from the Premier League for 15 years and with respect, Bielsa can’t afford any weak links at this moment in time.
It would break Bielsa’s heart to drop Cooper for the trip to Birmingham City next week, but his form just cannot be ignored and although some Leeds fans would question a decision to bench him, many more would back the head coach if he did.
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