Farke must drop 3/10 Leeds star who won 0 duels

Leeds United missed the chance to move above Sheffield United at the Championship summit after falling to a frustrating 1-0 defeat to Blackburn Rovers on Saturday afternoon.

A win would have seen Daniel Farke’s men move into top spot in the division on goal difference, yet the Whites ultimately walked away with nothing, as Todd Cantwell’s first-half penalty proved to be the game’s defining moment.

The manner of the loss will no doubt rankle with Leeds supporters, not least Farke’s decision not to change things up until the 70th-minute mark, with those late alterations doing little to spark the visitors into life.

While the German tactician may then need to look at himself following that outing at Ewood Park, questions must also be asked of a number of his side on the day, with far too many having been off the boil.

How Leeds fared against Blackburn

While it may have been Ao Tanaka who bundled over Tyrhys Dolan to hand the hosts that decisive spot kick, the summer signing wasn’t alone in looking shaky defensively, with Junior Firpo having also been under-par at left-back.

The former Barcelona man notably lost the ball on 12 occasions and won just six of his 11 total duels, as per Sofascore, on what was the defender’s first outing since the defeat to Millwall.

Perhaps a greater issue, however, was the lack of creativity and quality in the attacking ranks, with United States international, Brenden Aaronson, failing to provide a single key pass in his number ten berth.

The former Red Bull Salzburg man was, unsurprisingly, among the trio to make way in that first raft of changes, having now gone five league games without contributing a goal or an assist. Grim reading for any playmaker.

In the words of journalist Beren Cross, the 24-year-old was “well off it”, as too – he said – was Joel Piroe, with the Dutch marksman again proving a major issue when leading the line.

The Leeds star who must now be dropped

Piroe, it must be said, remains something of an enigma for the Elland Road side. The one-time Swansea City and PSV Eindhoven man does boast a haul of seven goals this season, yet he is far from a traditional, orthodox number nine.

As journalist Graham Smyth noted during the encounter, “part of Leeds’ problem” is the way in which Piroe seeks to drop deep or pop up in wide areas, rather than get himself inside the penalty area.

That said, the 25-year-old failed to offer much when he did move away from his centre-forward berth, having been restricted to just 27 touches in total – fewer than teammate Illan Meslier in the sticks (30).

Equally, the misfiring marksman – who did score last time out against Luton Town – also recorded a pass accuracy rate of just 73% and failed to win any of his four total duels, having also lost the ball on eight occasions prior to being withdrawn late on.

As Cross noted in his post-match player ratings for Leeds Live, Piroe – who was awarded a measly 3/10 match rating – was ‘really poor’ and ‘barely involved’, with a decision now needing to be made ahead of next week’s clash with Derby County.

With young Mateo Joseph offering a perfect alternative through the middle, it might be time for Farke to shake things up moving forward.