Stats highlight how well Liam Bridcutt played on return to Leeds side

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Leeds claimed a valuable three points against Reading to move up to fifth in the Championship.

Having not been able to call upon Liam Bridcutt for exactly three months, Garry Monk would have probably preferred to keep his captain on the bench for much longer than the 33 minutes he did spend on the sidelines during Leeds United’s clash with Reading on Tuesday night. However, based on the statistics, the Whites boss would undoubtedly have been delighted with the midfielder’s display.

The 27-year-old had made just four appearances for the club following his summer switch, with the last coming in the victory over Blackburn in September.

Liam Bridcutt Leeds United in action with Jack Payne of Huddersfield Town

And the form shown by the likes of Kalvin Phillips, Ronaldo Vieira and Eunan O’Kane in his absence even had some supporters questioning whether the skipper automatically came back into the team following his return to fitness.

However, suspensions and injuries – including the one that forced Chris Wood off after half an hour against the Royals – presented Bridcutt with the opportunity to demonstrate why he was the player who most supporters wanted to see brought in permanently in the summer.

And it appears that he certainly took that chance.

Leeds United manager Garry Monk

Only Pontus Jansson made more blocks than Bridcutt, while it was also only the Swede as well as Luke Ayling who sat above him in terms of duels won throughout the fixture.

Meanwhile, no player made more interceptions throughout the game than the former Sunderland man.

And if he made it through the game unscathed, then Monk will unquestionably reflect on his performance as a huge positive on a night where Leeds sent a real message about their play-off intentions.