Leeds United beat Oxford United 2-0 at Elland Road in their final pre-season friendly.
Thomas Christiansen has hinted that Pontus Jansson’s suspension for the first two games of the season was the main reason behind the decision to select Matthew Pennington and Liam Cooper at the heart of the Leeds defence for their pre-season friendly with Oxford United at the weekend, the Yorkshire Evening Post reports.
Jansson is arguably one of the first names on the teamsheet for most Whites fans after his first season at Elland Road, especially given that the side have just three out-and-out centre-backs to pick from currently, so his omission in the final pre-season friendly before the curtain-raiser against Bolton Wanderers may have surprised some.
However, Christiansen hinted that the fact that the Sweden international will miss the game with the Trotters as well as the League Cup tie with Port Vale due to the 15 yellow cards he collected last term inspired his decision to try Pennington and Cooper together in the 2-0 win.
“He is okay but he is suspended for the first two games so we have all that in mind,” he said, as reported by the Yorkshire Evening Post.
Though it was not a completely perfect display from the two centre-backs Christiansen did select, the fact that they kept a clean sheet and generally looked solid together will give them and the rest of the team plenty of belief that they can fill the void that Jansson is set to leave.
And if Pennington and Cooper strike up a good partnership in those first two games, then it may well help Jansson upon his return to the team as it may leave him feeling that while there was a clear first-choice pairing last season that he was a vital part of, he cannot afford to let any complacency creep into his game – especially as Christiansen would surely be foolish to not try and strengthen his options in that position further this summer.
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