If Daniel Farke was offered a total of 21 points at the halfway stage of the Premier League season, then he would have snapped that person’s hand off. Leeds United are sitting safely in 16th.
It comes after a stunning defensive display against Liverpool at Anfield on Thursday night. Despite Leeds lacking Joe Rodon and starting both James Justin and Seb Bornauw, the Whites kept a clean sheet.
The first clean sheet since August. It was only Justin’s second Premier League start for Leeds, and for £5m signing Bornauw, it was his first start. He had only managed two injury-time cameo roles beforehand.
There were some excellent performances, LeedsUnited.News rating Gabi Gudmundsson and Ilia Gruev as Leeds’ best. But there is an “unsung hero” in this Leeds side, according to Troy Deeney, at the moment.
Was that Leeds’ best defensive display of the season? 🤔
Even without Joe Rodon…
Troy Deeney names Leeds United’s unsung hero as Jaka Bijol
Leeds’ new signings are coming into their own, too. Dominic Calvert-Lewin is scoring goals and was so unlucky to see his effort ruled out for offside. Anton Stach is showing why Leeds paid £19.9m for him.
But Jaka Bijol has been sensational in recent matches, and aside from a possible penalty appeal, Bijol was absolutely excellent in keeping Hugo Ekitike as quiet as he could. Deeney praised the Leeds star.
Having named Bijol in his BBC Sports Team of the Week, Deeney said about Bijol: “At Anfield, everyone would have expected Liverpool to really do a job on this team and make sure that they were ready to go.
“Unfortunately, Leeds are flying high. They defended resolutely and rode their luck. There was a massive chance for Hugo Ekitike to score, but Leeds are in a good vein of form. Bijol has been an unsung hero.”
Jaka Bijol has been Leeds United’s third-best player so far
Bijol was made to wait for his chance in the side. Farke’s insistence on playing a back four meant there was no room for the Slovenian. Bijol would often speak of his frustration while on international duty.
Agree or disagree – Leeds will be disappointed not to have nicked a win at Anfield
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He has started just nine of Leeds’ 19 Premier League games this season, but those nine have come in the last 11 games. Bijol has started Leeds’ last six league games and is probably one of the first names.
What will surprise most is that, according to the stats, Bijol has been Leeds’ third-best player this season. FotMob’s average Bijol rating is 7.08, behind only skipper Ethan Ampadu (7.15) and Anton Stach (7.19)
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