Luke Ayling has told the Super 6 podcast that Leeds United’s players were all ‘buzzing’ even after they were beaten by Liverpool on the first game of the season.
Leeds stepped into the unknown after 16 years away from the Premier League back in September, but they made an immediate impact at Anfield.
Leeds managed to trouble the champions and were only narrowly beaten 4-3 by Jurgen Klopp’s side.
The performance that Leeds put in on that day helped convince Marcelo Bielsa’s players that they were capable of performing even at the top level.
And Ayling admits that Leeds squad were not downhearted in the dressing room, despite a last minute defeat.
“It comes from that first game of the season when we went to Anfield and just played our football,” Ayling said.
“I think a lot of people knew how we played in the Championship and thought we might not be able to do it in this league, because we’ll get picked off or teams will counter attack us too easily, which has happened a few times this season but we shrug it off.
“It comes from the first game of the season because we walked in after the game, obviously a bit disappointed because we threw away a point at the end of it. But still the boys were all smiling like ‘wow, that was pretty impressive that’.
“We were all buzzing that we’d just been beaten 4-3. We weren’t buzzing that we’d just been beaten, but we were buzzing with how we played and coped with it.”
The reaction of Leeds’ players that day compared to now probably highlights further just how far they have come.
Leeds have gone on to prove they can more than compete in the Premier League since that opening day defeat to Liverpool.
Bielsa’s side are currently sat in the top half of the Premier League standings and show no fear when coming up against the elite sides any more.
Leeds have taken points off Manchester City, Manchester United and Liverpool in their last three matches, with their current run of form highly impressive.
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