Abnormal figures as Leeds United star Raphinha endures evening to forget at Liverpool

United's Brazilian star found himself demoted to the bench for Sunday's clash against arch rivals Manchester United at Elland Road having been brought off during the interval of the previous weekend's 3-0 loss at Everton.

Whites head coach Marcelo Bielsa said both decisions were tactical, the Argentine then bringing the winger off the bench during the half-time break of Sunday's clash against the Red Devils.

Raphinha then found himself back in the starting line up for Wednesday night's clash at Liverpool but the 25-year-old was unable to produce any of the moments of magic that have led to him being such a coveted star.

Raphinha was not alone in producing a severely below par display but the hope would have been that the classy Brazilian would have been able to inject a piece of individual brilliance, such are his undeniable talents.

Liverpool's dominance was reflected by the fact that Leeds had not managed a single shot on target as the game reached the 65-minute marker.

At long last, United then finally tested Alisson one minute later and it was no surprise that it was Raphinha who served up the long-awaited first shot on target after cutting in from the right flank but his effort was too near to the Reds 'keeper who saved without any alarm.

At his best, Raphinha would have found the opposite corner but it was that sort of night for the Selecao star who had only 33 touches of the ball and ended the night with a passing success rate of just 55 per cent - the worst of any outfield player on the pitch.

Only 12 of Raphinha's 22 attempted passes found their man and aside from his shot that was saved by Alisson there was little else of note.

The winger also completed one successful dribble but Raphinha was dribbled past four times and was unable to win any tackles or aerial battles.

Raphinha has clearly made such giant strides due to his attacking prowess but at his best he can also be a nuisance defensively.

But nothing went right for him at Anfield, despite being picked out on a few occasions in space on the right hand flank.

A poor first touch let him down on one occasion whilst a cross sailed out of play and behind for a goal kick in another attack when Leeds had men in the box.

That was also the case as United countered when they were just 1-0 down in the 27th minute via Jack Harrison down the left flank.

The Reds were outnumbered at the back and the move presented a golden opportunity for Leeds to equalise, as looked to have been the case when Harrison's cross was met by Raphinha who tapped home at the far post.

Yet the Brazilian was immediately flagged offside and replays showed the margin was not even close as a golden opportunity went begging for the Whites.

Essentially, thereafter, Raphinha's night did not get much better, although this time Bielsa kept him on for the duration of the game.

Instead, Mateusz Klich, Rodrigo and finally Dan James were withdrawn as Jamie Shackleton, Tyler Roberts and then lastly Joe Gelhardt were introduced.

There were two schools of thought after Raphinha was subbed at half-time against Everton and then dropped to the bench against the Red Devils.

One such train of thought was that Raphinha had been poor of late and that taking him out of the side was a good call.

Conversely, this is United's best player we are talking about, one who is now a regular starter for Brazil and probably capable of playing for the best sides in the world.

At the moment, though, the task is to help keep Leeds United in the best division and the sooner he rediscovers his spark the better.

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