Leeds United came from behind after a woeful first-half display to beat La Liga side Elche 2-1 at the Manuel Martinez Valero Stadium on Thursday night – and here are five things you might have missed during the victory:
Five things you might have missed during Leeds victory:
Summerville injury; appeared fine, initially
While there were plenty of positives and Leeds came from behind to win, the biggest worry will be the injury picked up by in-form ace Crysencio Summerville. Before the World Cup break, he scored in each of Leeds last four games.
Played through on goal by Jack Harrison, Summerville delayed and when he did go to shoot, his legs tangled with an Elche defender. A nasty-looking collision, which saw Summerville get up and walk away – seemingly unaffected.
But then, with the Elche defender writhing around in pain, Summerville was seen on the deck. He limped off, very gingerly – something which Tony Dorigo also noticed. Hopefully, just an impact injury and a return soon.
Rodrigo takes frustration out on ball-boy
A frustrating night for Rodrigo. He lasted 60 minutes, before being replaced by one of the seven subs Jesse Marsch made on Thursday evening. He was starved of service in the first half as Elche kept Leeds penned in, in their half.
It was not until Rodrigo went off, that Leeds improved. Not down to Rodrigo himself, but he will have wanted to put in a better display. On 34 minutes, Rodrigo was clearly offisde as Adam Forshaw delayed a pass through to him.
When Forshaw did pass it to Rodrigo, the Spaniard was a good four or five yards off. The linesman put his flag up, and Rodrigo blasted a low shot into a ball-boy – hitting him at shin level. Rodrigo quickly apologised after doing so.
Leeds players exhausted at FT, including subs
What was alarming at full-time, was just how many Leeds players instantly bent over and put their hands on their knees. Cody Drameh even collapsed to the ground, despite only playing for the last 30 minutes or so of the match.
Luke Ayling, Leo Hjelde, Pascal Struijk, Mateusz Klich and Darko Gyabi are also seen trying to catch their breath. Perhaps a sign of just how intense the training has been in Spain, and also, perhaps due to the conditions in Spain.
Cooper injury worry, when praising Gyabi
Summerville was the biggest injury concern, while Sonny Perkins came off the bench and was instantly complaining about an issue. It saw him finally come off on 86 minutes, with the winger playing in a very-much reserved manner.
Marsch had used all of the outfield options on his bench, meaning Leeds would have gone down to 10 men. An injury worry that went under the radar, though, was captain Cooper – one of the players replaced on the hour mark.
After the game, the skipper was seen congratulating Darko Gyabi with his arm held as if it were in a sling. Under the potential injury, was something wrapped in a shirt-like object. Perhaps, an ice pack. One to keep an eye on.
Marsch and Klich embrace amid doubts over future
Marsch spoke after the match regarding Klich’s future. He says there have been some conversations regarding the 32-year-old ahead of the January window. But Klich came off the bench to score the winner, a truly gorgeous goal.
Trademark Klich, something we have not seen in a while. He has a contract at Elland Road until June 2024. But with Klich potentially departing, he is still well-liked at Leeds – having played 192 times for the club since joining in 2017.
Following his winner, which saw Leeds win the Festa d’Elx trophy, Klich and Marsch were seen having a long hug and a passionate conversation on the pitch before. Intriguing to know what might have been said.
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