Leeds United grateful to World Cup winner as unexpected inclusion comes through position scrutiny

Leeds might consider themselves a little fortunate that the in-form right winger, a man knocking on the door of the England squad, was unable to add to the five goals he has scored since the World Cup break. In fact Leeds ought to thank World Cup winner Alexis Mac Allister for that. Three times in the first half the Argentine opted for an ultimately off-target shot when March was completely free outside him.

The second half of course would have brought a March goal had it not been for Jack Harrison getting to the ball just ahead of the Brighton star and lashing it into his own net with a miscued clearance.

March's occasional appearance in so much space and the danger he posed, albeit without getting the chance to convert it into goals, was a left-back problem but not a Junior Firpo problem. There were times when March got the better of the defender, going past him in each half, but it's fair to say that Firpo did not suffer the same torrid afternoon experienced by Luke Ayling, up against Kaoru Mitoma on the opposite flank.

Javi Gracia explained after the game that the way he set Leeds up to defend against Brighton's unique challenge created one v one man-marking situations for his full-backs. But where Ayling's issue was largely Mitoma's pace, Firpo's appeared more closely connected to Leeds' system and issues that it threw at the back four.

The left-back was never left trailing in March's wake as a ball went over the top of him into unguarded space. He was, however, dragged away from his man to fight central fires that broke out. Marcelo Bielsa's man-to-man marking this was not and nor could it be.

Gracia's instruction for his centre-backs to follow Evan Ferguson or Mac Allister as they dropped deep and the runs Brighton made into the space left behind gave Firpo a choice between sticking with March or watching another blue and white shirt go in on goal. He was picking his poison.

When Firpo did go with March as the winger moved towards the touchline, Pascal Groß ran into the channel, tracked by Marc Roca, beat the midfielder with ease and produced a fine cross that led to the opener. There was a measure of revenge before the break, however, when Firpo faced up to March and forced him backwards to Joël Veltman, Jack Harrison charging down the right-back's pass and finding Patrick Bamford, who levelled.

The battle between Firpo and March was even more ding-dong in the second half, Leeds' left-back denying the winger in a trio of one-v-one moments before the hour mark. When March did manage to force Harrison into the own goal to give Brighton a 2-1 lead, Firpo was marking Ferguson who would otherwise have been free inside the six-yard box.

The situation was almost replicated when Ayling missed a tackle on Mitoma and with Robin Koch not in the picture, Firpo was pulled into the middle again to track Danny Welbeck. March, alone at the back post, was mercifully not found. A late booking and a missed tackle of his own were the result of March finishing on top of their personal duel but Firpo never really went under, against a top performer and what's more, his performance had more to it than just defending.

He made numerous attacking runs that would have put him in behind the defence had team-mates found the right pass and produced smart touches and passes to put both Tyler Adams and Roca away into space. With Leeds pressing for a winner and the game opening up he continued to get up and down the pitch in support of attacks.

His continued presence in the team, initially necessitated by the concussion sustained by Pascal Struijk at Old Trafford, would have been considered a surprise prior to this run of games because in truth it looked like his Leeds race was run. Kept out by a younger centre-half playing the left-back role - at times well enough, at other times shakily - Firpo's previous struggles with form and availability left little reason to believe he could forge much of a future at Elland Road. And yet here he is, five games into a run of starts that has now made Struijk's return at left-back seem unlikely.

What Firpo gives Leeds, that the centre-back does not, or at least not to anywhere near the same degree, is an attacking instinct that allows him to take up dangerous positions and the ideas of how to hurt teams. Where he holds threat is in loitering level with the back line as rebuffed attacks are recycled, before offering himself with a run towards the byline.

Against Brighton he was unable to execute but the right ideas were there. In the first half he overlapped Harrison and sent a slightly undercooked low pass towards the run of Crysencio Summerville. The winger couldn't get on it but it was into such a dangerous area that Patrick Bamford almost did.

In the second half he darted inside to take a pass in the box from Willy Gnonto and slid it in the direction of Weston McKennie. It wasn't perfect but had McKennie anticipated it as well as his marker, there was a big chance to be had.

Any discussion around Firpo will always come back to the wider body of evidence and how exposed his one-v-one defending looked in a horrible first season of Premier League football. Concerns raised about that facet of his game by Spanish football experts prior to his arrival proved painfully astute.

But in the here and now, Firpo is doing the job and doing it as well as he ever has in a Leeds shirt. At Chelsea he was fine. At Fulham the same could be said. Against Southampton he was excellent even before his match winner was taken into consideration.

The lot of a Premier League full-back is not an easy one. Most weeks you line up against the opposition's best players, tricky attackers with pace to burn and creativity in spades. The March test behind him, Adama Traore looms large on Firpo's horizon. Or it might be Pedro Neto, the nippy, technical type. Either could cause problems for Leeds but Firpo's job is to ensure his position is not the problem.