‘Rollercoaster’ - What pundits have said about Leeds United after every game this season

Leeds United have put together a mixed campaign so far, heading into the World Cup break in 15th place.

Jesse Marsch’s men have endured a big wobble since a good-looking start to the season, but while they go into the break on the back of a crushing 4-3 defeat to Tottenham, they have won two of their last three, moving up and away from the bottom three for now.

Marsch will need to make his side more defensively resolute over the course of the break, and the priority will be to remain away from the relegation zone and its pull.

But as the World Cup takes hold, we have taken a look at what pundits have said about Leeds after every game so far this season.

Leeds 2-1 Wolves

Steve Nicol on Brenden Aaronson on ESPN: “I think the most impressive thing about Aaronson was that he was all over the park, and he was closing the ball, and he was winning it and he was giving it. We know that he can do all that stuff. I think the best part of his game was the way he delivered these passes and the decision-making, not just with the ball at his feet, but again, choosing when to go and close down, and choosing when to stay off.

“You’re talking about almost a complete performance, because obviously scoring would have been the cherry on the top.

“The fact is that he’s now showing everybody at Premier League level that he’s capable of showing himself to be the most important player on the field against a Wolves side, who are packed, by the way, with internationals, with experience.”

Southampton 2-2 Leeds

Alan Shearer said on Match of the Day: “They would have had taken that (four points from two games) before a ball was kicked this season. They will be disappointed with letting that two-goal lead slip away.”

Leeds 3-0 Chelsea

Shearer said: “It was an incredible game. Other than the first few minutes of the game where Raheem Sterling missed a big opportunity for Chelsea, Leeds battered Chelsea. They went after them, they didn’t give them a moments peace. Their energy, their application, the way the manager had them playing in terms of pressing. It wasn’t just about the pressing, when they got the ball they played some fantastic football as well.

“This is what they did. They just didn’t allow Chelsea to settle and play any of their game because of this [high press] it wasn’t just one person doing it, it was the whole team.

“When they lost the ball, then when they won it back they had three of them to go and play and cause Chelsea problems as they did. He gets a warning here the goalkeeper because that’s exactly what Leeds were going to do - they’re going to close him down, every player, no time at all for Chelsea to play to get into any sort of rhythm. We’ve had the warning which Mendy didn’t take any notice of whatsoever. He tries to be clever - too clever - and he gets done with an absolute howler.

“But, Aaronson led from the front in terms of his ability and energy - threes and fours [pressing]. Even when they were 3-0 up their attitude never changed Leeds. Once they got the third one they wanted to go and get a fourth one and then force other errors into the game.”

Brighton 1-0 Leeds

Michael Dawson said on Sky Sports News: “[Illan] Meslier made two or three saves that were top class to keep them in the game. The second half changed, of course it did, because Leeds couldn’t be any worse than they were in the first half.

“Leeds made substitutions, they were disappointing. Jack Harrison, big player for them last week, magnificent. Non-existent today, he really, really was. And Leeds can’t have that performance because they’re not good enough to carry players.”

Leeds 1-1 Everton

Stephen Warnock on TalkSPORT about Leeds’ goal: “Sinisterra will get all the congratulations, but Gelhardt plays a huge role. He makes the run that pulls defenders away and Sinisterra drives into the bottom corner. Pickford is off foot, Tarkowski is in his sight and he can’t see where the ball is.”

Brentford 5-2 Leeds

Match of the Day pundit Danny Murphy has said: “I understand his frustration. It was an awful decision. It was probably enhanced by the fact Brentford had got one that was more of a 50/50. It was good play from Summerville, dances round the defender (Hickey). It looks a penalty in real time but the referee decides not to give it, Rob Jones.”

Leeds 0-0 Aston Villa

Dion Dublin told Sky Sports: “It was an awful game, not a good one to referee. This [penalty claim] was a bad moment. Lots of inconsistencies throughout.”

Crystal Palace 2-1 Leeds

Dion Dublin praised Leeds despite their defeat, saying on Match of the Day: “Leeds just set these traps for Palace, and they obliged and it just wasn’t working for them. They have got a man each, [and] you can see that they’re under pressure, forcing Palace down one side.

“This is done on a training pitch, hour after hour. You get them to play a ball into an area where you know one of your teammates is [there to assist you].”

Leeds 0-1 Arsenal

Former Leeds star Paul Robinson told MOT Leeds News: “Aaronson has been excellent this season but results have been poor – Leeds haven’t won since the Chelsea game. In the Palace game, I thought it was a poor performance all round, in all honesty. It was a lacklustre, disjointed performance. Aaronson joined Leeds in the summer, and his creativity and energy has been a breath of fresh air for Marsch and his men.”

Leicester 2-0 Leeds

Simon Walton told BBC Radio Leeds: “I think sometimes the counter-argument to that is, ‘yeah, but he’s good going forward’. But there was no attacking threat either. As a full-back, if you’re not particularly good defensively, you have to provide something going forward. And unfortunately tonight, we didn’t get either. We didn’t get anything at either end from him.”

Leeds 2-3 Fulham

Shearer said on Match of the Day: “When you’re not playing well, which they’re not, you have to do the basics right, particularly defending set pieces and they were really poor and got caught out. You just look at Mitrovic and Ayling there, he’s too strong for him, he pushes him off and gets to the ball first.

“Another corner, watch how they go to sleep. The whole Leeds team goes to sleep and switches off, you cannot switch off at this level, any level.”

Liverpool 1-2 Leeds

Graeme Souness told Sky Sports: “They (Leeds) played like a team that really believed in what they were going to do. Believed they were going to get a result. Liverpool are a country mile away from what they were in the last few years. They don’t play with the same intensity. Leeds were more than a match for what Liverpool did for a few years, they basically bullied teams did Liverpool.”

Leeds 4-3 Bournemouth

Danny Murphy said on Match of the Day: “There was so much to admire and so much positivity from them today. High-tempo football, great to watch and it was a rollercoaster but I think their philosophy and the way they play sometimes can be a negative. Bournemouth took full advantage of that in the first half. They’d gone one up from really positive play but here they had six players ready to press so what Bournemouth did is miss out the six-man press.

“One pass and they suddenly have an overload and this is only at 1-0. Sometimes Leeds need to find a balance and just calm down a bit, you can’t play every minute of a game like a cup tie. This is a brilliant goal by Greenwood but they are going to have games where they get beat like they did against Brentford, for example.”

Tottenham 4-3 Leeds

Robinson told MOT Leeds News of Tyler Adams’ role in the defeat to Tottenham: “They were silly yellow cards. It could have been avoided quite easily. Keep your emotions in check. It’s hard, yes. It’s difficult. But at that stage of the game, emotions were running high and he didn’t handle that moment in the game very well.

“He cost his team, and they were down to 10 men. There was always a way back into the game for Leeds. It never seemed like it was over until that red card, which was silly.”