Leeds United lost away at Preston North End in the Championship this afternoon, with several players failing to impress.
Leeds United faced Preston North End at Deepdale in today’s early kick off in the Championship.
Daniel Farke would’ve been hoping to see his side build on their emphatic 4-0 win over Ipswich Town before Christmas, but instead, the Leeds boss was left ruing at his side’s lack of offensive quality.
Leeds recorded just two shots on target as they fell to a 2-1 defeat; Pascal Struijk scored from the spot in between Preston’s two second half goals, with Illan Meslier being shown a straight red shortly after the break.
Joel Piroe ‘barely noticed’ against Preston
Several players struggled this afternoon.
Archie Gray had a tough time against Preston winger Liam Millar whilst Meslier was understandably criticised following his ‘moment of madness’, as labelled by journalist Beren Cross.
And striker Joel Piroe was another who failed to make an impact.
The Dutchman has scored nine goals in 21 Championship outings for Leeds this season but saw both his efforts on goal blocked, as per Sofascore, with the 24-year-old also making just six passes out of eight, completing no dribbles, and having just 16 touches of the ball before being substituted following Meslier’s sending off.
Leeds Live gave Piroe a 4/10 score for today’s performance, with Cross adding:
“The sacrificial lamb for the red card, but hardly a vintage afternoon for Piroe, who was barely noticed.”
A familiar issue for Daniel Farke and Leeds United
There’s been a debate around Piroe since he arrived at the club in the summer; how can Farke truly get the best out of him?
The Leeds boss has faced criticism for deploying Piroe as a no.10, which is where he played today, and for often persisting with this tactic.
Too often though, Piroe is a passenger in games, but he’s a proven goal-scorer in the second tier with 41 league goals for Swansea City over the course of the 2021/22 and 2022/23 campaigns combined.
So Farke has a tried and tested scorer, but he’s often playing out of position.
Farke is also a tried and tested name in the Championship and so he obviously sees potential playing Piroe slightly behind the striker, but once again he’s seen his marquee summer signing go missing in what was a really tough afternoon for Leeds today.
And up next is another tough outing against West Brom on Friday night.
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