Dominic Calvert-Lewin took the headlines but one 126-touch Leeds United debutant stood out in cup loss

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Leeds United handed debuts to three players in their League Cup exit against Sheffield Wednesday, but Dominic Calvert-Lewin will be keen to forget his own after a difficult night.

After replacing Lukas Nmecha shortly before the hour mark, Dominic Calvert-Lewin missed a string of chances before blazing his penalty over the bar as Leeds slumped to a cup defeat.

Big things were also expected of marquee signing Noah Okafor, who made his first start for Leeds, and the former AC Milan man was lively but lacked end product in a frustrating evening for Daniel Farke.

Leeds’ defensive performance was solid before an error from Karl Darlow handed the hosts a goal, as Farke partnered Jaka Bijol and Sebastiaan Bornauw at the heart of Leeds’ defence.

Bijol’s performance offered one crumb of comfort to Farke, as he looks to force his way into Leeds’ starting side.

Jaka Bijol impresses on Leeds United debut

After missing the Premier League opener against Everton through suspension, Bijol was forced to wait for his Leeds debut, with Pascal Struijk preferred in the heavy loss against Arsenal.

However, Bijol made a statement to Farke with his performance against the Owls, as he looked untroubled in his first taste of English football, albeit against a weakened Wednesday side.

According to the data from FotMob, Bijol barely put a foot wrong in an assured debut, as Leeds looked untroubled aside from Darlow’s error.

The Slovenian international made 126 touches, the most of any player on the pitch, and made 102 accurate passes, at an impressive 93% success rate.

Defensively, Bijol was rock solid, completing 100% of his tackles. He also won 10 duels, made seven recoveries, four clearances and one block.

On a night where few players impressed for Leeds, Bijol’s performance was a positive for Farke to take forward. As Leeds look to bounce back from their 5-0 defeat against Arsenal, he could come into contention for their next fixture.

Leeds need a solid defensive performance against Newcastle

Leeds’ defence looked largely untroubled against Everton, allowing Lukas Nmecha to win the game with a late penalty, before it collapsed at the Emirates Stadium.

Farke’s side face another leading European contender this weekend, and he needs his defence to find its stability to stand any chance of getting a result.

Heading into the game against Leeds, FotMob shows that Newcastle have the lowest expected goals against of any Premier League team so far this season, with 0.9.

Leeds’ attack has failed to score more than one goal in any game so far this season. Therefore, it appears that Farke is counting on a clean sheet to have any chance of pulling off an upset. Bijol could be key to these hopes.