Patrick Bamford’s injury-time strike helped Leeds United secure a hard-fought 2-2 draw against Brentford at Elland Road on Sunday afternoon.
Leeds United secured a point in a 2-2 Premier League stalemate against Brentford in a high-intensity contest at Elland Road on Sunday, thanks to a late goal by returning striker Patrick Bamford.
A frantic start to the game soon faded out as both sides struggled to get to the grips of the contest, dealing with the personnel problems. Leeds skipper Liam Cooper hobbled off after a quarter of an hour, forcing a reshuffle, while Kalvin Phillips was withdrawn after suffering a calf problem after the break. As for Brentford, they missed the direct option that Ivan Toney provides.
The Whites’ broke the deadlock around the half-hour mark with Tyler Roberts netting his first goal of the campaign, slipping in to meet Raphinha’s cross and beat Brentford goalkeeper Alvaro Fernandez. However, Brentford responded by equalising when Sergi Canos’ cross was deflected kindly into Shandon Baptiste’s path, who bobbled a shot from the edge of the penalty box.
Soon after, Canos made no mistake with a precise finish from inside the box to complete off a slick interchange from the Bees following a quick turnover in possession. But, just as the game looked to slip away from Leeds’ grip, Bamford saved the day for his team, tapping in a 95th-minute Raphinha corner at the far post to make it 2-2.
It was a good point at the end of the day, considering Leeds seemed to have lost their way following Cooper and Phillips’ injuries. The result means Leeds now sit 14th in the league table with 16 points – six points clear of the drop zone. The Hard Tackle will now run the rule over Marcelo Bielsa’s men after a dramatic end to the intense game at Elland Road.
Illan Meslier: 5/10
Meslier was rarely tested in the first half and stood little chance with either of Brentford’s goals. And while there were no big saves to make, the Frenchman was shaky in possession throughout, struggling to find his teammates with his distribution.
Luke Ayling: 6/10
On his return, Ayling nearly scored with his goal-bound header denied by an excellent save from the Bees goalkeeper. It did not take him long to settle in, and he played his part. After Liam Cooper’s injury, he took over the armband. Some errant passes in the second half aside, he competed well in a fast-paced and physical match.
Diego Llorente: 5.5/10
Llorente had very little to do in the first half but was troubled too much in the second as Leeds’ play went sloppy. He failed to track Canos in the build-up to the second goal, allowing him to run in behind, but he was not the sole culprit. He failed to infuse any sense of calmness and control while leading the backline in Cooper’s absence.
Liam Cooper: N/A
The Leeds captain was taken off with a hamstring injury after landing awkwardly while attempting to stop Bryan Mbeumo’s half-volley within the opening 15 minutes of the game.
Stuart Dallas: 7/10
Stuart Dallas vs. Brentford:
84% pass accuracy
81 touches (J-?)
49/58 successful passes
16/22 final third passes
9 ball recoveries (?)
7 crosses
5 duels won
3 interceptions
3/7 acc. long passes
2 tackles won
2 clearances
1 succ. take-on
1 time fouled
1 shot on-target pic.twitter.com/K7pXyf7nw5— LUFCDATA (@LUFCDATA) December 5, 2021
Dallas was utilised in multiple positions throughout the game. He was perhaps easily muscled off in the lead-up to Brentford’s equaliser. He helped Leeds advance with his runs, link-up plays and overloads, even showed a great turn on the edge of his box to get things moving. He swung in the cross that led in the corner from which the Whites equalised.
Kalvin Phillips: 6/10
Phillips looked comfortable in the first half, and his passing was better than in the last game. He floated behind the Bees’ buzzing breakaways, batting off any rumours of a row between the manager and himself by efficiently filling in the screening role Bielsa has prepared him for. Leeds felt his absence when he went down injured with the game at 1-0.
Adam Forshaw: 6.5/10
After starting the game brightly with some forward licence, he quickly reverted to more of a contained position. Forshaw put up another solid performance in the middle of the park, but he could have exerted more control with his passing.
Junior Firpo: 7/10
One of his better displays of the season, Firpo linked up well with Jack Harrison and was afforded the space to surge forwards. He looked quite threatening when he went forward to support the attacks around the box. Defensively, he did not back out from challenges and got his hands dirty for his team, completing a match-high 5 tackles. He was a tad lucky not to concede a penalty in the second half after a tug on Baptiste, but nothing else was particularly erroneous in defence.
Raphinha: 8/10
Raphinha vs. Brentford:
66 touches
27/37 successful passes
9/17 final third passes
7 duels won
6 ball recoveries
4 chances created
4/9 accurate crosses
3/4 succ. take-ons
3 accurate long passes
2 tackles won
2 interceptions
2 times fouled
1 big chance created
1 shot
1 assist ?️ pic.twitter.com/qOGanrN9qK— LUFCDATA (@LUFCDATA) December 5, 2021
Every time the ball was at his feet, he showed his Brazilian flair and looked threatening. Raphinha had to endure several kicks and stamp downs owing to his flamboyant dribbling. He bagged an assist with a low cross behind the Brentford defence that Roberts converted in the first half. He completed 4 key passes, 3 dribbles and a match-high 4 accurate crosses, while his defensive contributions were also decent on the day, reflected by 2 tackles and 2 interceptions.
Tyler Roberts: 8/10
One of his finest displays in a Leeds shirt. He showed great awareness and movement to glide in for the opening goal and was a menace throughout the game thereafter. He is a confidence player and can offer a real handful presence when his tail is up. He pressed well and carried the ball with great effect. He picked out some promising positions inside the box but could not exploit them, lacking a bit of cutting edge in the end product.
1 – Tyler Roberts has scored his first @premierleague goal at Elland Road, in his 24th home appearance in the competition and from his 30th shot attempted in those games. It was his first home goal for Leeds overall since July 2020 v Charlton, 501 days ago. Awaited. pic.twitter.com/EsQgdgeiK4
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) December 5, 2021
Daniel James: 5/10
James was buzzing around the pitch with great enthusiasm and vigour. Despite his lightning-quick pace, he had little influence in the final third. He also did not ask enough questions of Brentford’s backline.
Substitutes
Jack Harrison: 6/10
Substituted early in the game and was tasked with covering the whole left side as Leeds shifted to a 3-5-2. He combined well with Firpo and James in the first half, but most of his crosses were high and were very easily dealt with by Brentford’s taller centre-halves.
Mateusz Klich: 5/10
A lot of hard-running and interplay from Klich, but he could not impact the game in an attacking sense as he would have liked to.
Patrick Bamford: 8/10
Leeds have been sorely missing their marksman. Bamford was initially feeding off the scraps as the Whites went desperate to find the equaliser. He was in the right place at the right time to grab the last-gasp leveller and earn his side a valuable point.
