'Communication was good' - Pascal Struijk gives thumbs up to Leeds United's thirteenth centre-back pairing

PASCAL Struijk hailed the communication between himself and Diego Llorente as Leeds United's 13th centre-back pairing of the season kept an immediate clean sheet.
By Lee Sobot
Published 15th Mar 2021, 05:45 BST
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Struijk had initially been ruled out of Saturday’s Premier League clash against Chelsea at Elland Road by Whites head coach Marcelo Bielsa who said the defender would not be available after not recovering from a knock sustained in the 1-0 loss at home to Aston Villa.

But captain Liam Cooper was then forced to miss the Blues clash through illness and Struijk came back into the starting XI to partner Llorente at centre-back for what was United’s 13th pairing of the season at the heart of the defence.

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Despite 15 Chelsea shots at goal of which eight were on target, the centre-back duo helped Leeds keep a clean sheet as part of a goalless draw and Struijk gave the thumbs up to the latest new-look pairing.

THUMBS UP: For a 13th Leeds United centre-back pairing of the season between Pascal Struijk, left, and Diego Llorente, second from right, as the duo look to shut out Chelsea's Kai Havertz. Photo by Laurence Griffiths/Getty Images.THUMBS UP: For a 13th Leeds United centre-back pairing of the season between Pascal Struijk, left, and Diego Llorente, second from right, as the duo look to shut out Chelsea's Kai Havertz. Photo by Laurence Griffiths/Getty Images.
THUMBS UP: For a 13th Leeds United centre-back pairing of the season between Pascal Struijk, left, and Diego Llorente, second from right, as the duo look to shut out Chelsea's Kai Havertz. Photo by Laurence Griffiths/Getty Images.

“This season it has been quite different, every other game there is a new centre-half next to me!” smiled Struijk.

“But I thought we did well, our communication was good so we worked it out and got a clean sheet.

"Diego had a shot on goal and we had a couple of chances as well but unfortunately they didn’t go in, but it’s good that we can create these chances.

"We just need to finish them to get a goal."

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Related topics:Pascal StruijkDiego LlorenteLiam Cooper

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