Ben White was arguably Leeds United’s standout performer as they collected another win in the Championship.
While a number of attacking players ultimately staked a claim to be man of the match from Leeds’ 3-0 thrashing of Stoke City on Saturday, it was a superb defensive display from the Whites that gave them a chance to go into the break 1-0 up.
The Potters disrupted Leeds’ flow during the opening 40 minutes at the bet365 Stadium. They hassled Marcelo Bielsa’s side, and often looked the more likely to break the deadlock as a lot of the game was played in the visitors’ half of the pitch.
However, Kiko Casilla had so little to do during the contest, and that was largely down to the solid defensive unit that played in front of him. The Spaniard has now kept three clean sheets in a row in the league and four in all competitions.
The star of the show defensively was unquestionably Ben White, who has proved to be a revelation at the heart of the Leeds backline since arriving at Elland Road on loan from Brighton in the summer.
The 21-year-old read the game superbly once again, and his composure on the ball was frightening at times. Leeds fans would have initially been forgiven for worrying if White was about to land himself in trouble when he looked to calmly keep the ball while surrounded by Stoke attackers, but it was clear that he was already a move or two ahead and knew exactly what he needed to do to get the Whites back on the front foot.
And what White’s performance all the more remarkable was the defence that the youngster had around him.
While Stuart Dallas, Gaetano Berardi and Gjanni Alioski were not playing in unfamiliar roles on Saturday, it cannot be forgotten that they were all playing out of position, with wingers Dallas and Alioski converted into full-backs, and Berardi now more likely to play at centre-back than out wide. Yet White had no problem bringing the best out of his teammates.
White was the leader of the quartet in Liam Cooper’s absence, and he took to the role superbly. Leeds rarely looked troubled, and the defensive performance set the platform for the superbly-ruthless display that was to come from the league leaders at the other end of the pitch.
Last season, it seemed that every member of Leeds’ defence had the potential to lose their head at some stage – as the second-leg of the play-off semi-final largely proved. But in White, Victor Orta and Bielsa appear to have uncovered a centre-back who has no problem keeping his, no matter how much responsibility is placed on his shoulders.
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