Sheffield United’s goalkeeper believes they have sent message to Leeds after going top of the Championship

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It was a frustrating weekend for Leeds United as The Whites could only manage a draw at Preston while their three automatic promotion rivals all secured wins, including Sheffield United.

It could have been worse for Leeds, had Dan James cross not found itself in the back of the net after touches from Mateo Joseph and then Preston defender Jack Whatmough in the 93rd minute at Deepdale.

It cancelled out Brad Potts’ opener, in a fixture that Leeds actually lost last season. Not the worst result in the world, but not the best either. Leeds have won just three of their 10 Championship away games.

But the weekend saw Sheffield United, Sunderland and Burnley all win. The Blades secured a 2-0 win over Plymouth Argyle, with Michael Cooper keeping another clean sheet – his 13th in 19 Championship games.

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Sheffield United star Michael Cooper has message for Leeds

Speaking after the 2-0 win over Plymouth on Saturday, in which Darko Gyabi missed a glorious chance to equalise for Wayne Rooney’s side, Cooper said Sheffield United going three points clear is a message.

A signal of intent to the likes of Leeds, Burnley and Sunderland in the race to finish in the top two places come next May. Despite the draw, Leeds remain in second but only a point ahead of Burnley in third.

“It reflects how hard we’ve been working, how focused we’ve been, sends a message out to the other teams in the league. Not here by chance, we are really trying to keep getting results, plugging away.”

Michael Cooper streets ahead of Leeds man Illan Meslier

While Cooper continues to sparkle after his move from Plymouth to Bramall Lane, Meslier is struggling to convince Leeds fans again. The Frenchman should have done better to stop Brad Potts’ goal for Preston.

Indeed, Cooper boasts the best FotMob rating of any Championship player so far with 7.58. Leeds only have one in the top 10 of all Championship players, in the form of Ao Tanaka who has a rating of 7.45.

Cooper is easily one of the best Championship signings of the season and continues to play a pivotal role in Sheffield United’s push to secure an instant return to the Premier League this season.