It was a mixed night for Leeds United on Saturday.
Marcelo Bielsa’s side lost 1-0 at home to Aston Villa at Elland Road on an otherwise disappointing evening for the Whites.
But there was at least one positive in the form of Raphinha’s performance.
The Brazilian proved once again that he’s very much the real deal and Leeds look like they have an absolute gem on their hands, having signed him last summer.
Raphinha’s final ball let him down at times last night but at other times he looked electric and full of the sort of tricks that would’ve made United fans stand and applaud if they were in attendance.
He was comfortably Leeds’ best source of trying to equalise – particularly in the first half – and here’s what Andy Hinchcliffe said about the former Sporting player.
He said live on Sky Sports: “What an unbelievable piece of play by Raphinha. The way he kills the ball in the first instance is hard enough to do but then to ally that with his movement on the ball, the pace, his touch. Look at his body, he is never off balance, he can go left or right. He is just a defensive nightmare.”
As for Leeds as a whole, they missed the chance to climb into the top-half of the table.
The 10th-placed West Yorkshire side would’ve moved ninth and above Tottenham – at least for 20 hours or so – had they beaten Villa.
Still, if you offered Bielsa or any Leeds fan the chance to be exactly mid-table with 12 games to go on their Premier League return, they’d have taken that.
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