For the first time since our defeat to Brentford, Leeds United kicked off a game without Liam Cooper in the starting lineup, with the captain left on the bench for the trip to Leicester City.
Jesse Marsch rotated his ranks for the game against the Foxes, making four changes from the side which performed brilliantly against Arsenal.
And one of those changes saw Diego Llorente come in for Cooper.
Liam Cooper: An apology
Cooper was excellent against the Gunners. But that performance only came after a really poor showing at Crystal Palace. The Scotland international was definitely at fault for the first goal. And he made another error before the home side’s second.
It was a reminder to many of the limitations Cooper does have. This particular writer foolishly wrote a piece yesterday suggesting that Pascal Struijk being injured could be a positive as he may return as a centre-back alongside Robin Koch.
Well, not for the first time during his time at Elland Road, this writer owes Cooper a major apology.
Leeds were shambolic at the back during the first-half against Leicester. Koch had to put the ball into his own net to stop Harvey Barnes breaking the deadlock.
And no-one was there to stop Barnes getting his inevitable goal against Leeds later in the half.
Llorente was poor. And yet, he was Leeds’ best defender by some distance in the first-half. So it was absolutely no surprise that Cooper came on at the break.
Obviously, to act as though Cooper is our saviour at the back would be significantly over the top. However, time and time and time again, the 31-year-old proves people wrong.
And ultimately, we only realised how important Cooper remains after seeing what 45 minutes without him looks like on Thursday.
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