Pascal Struijk produces underrated display in Leeds loss

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As Liam Cooper suggested following Leeds United’s defeat to Everton on Wednesday, if there is a way to lose the game, Marcelo Bielsa’s side stumbled upon it with their spirited performance at Elland Road.

Leeds were excellent in the second-half. But after getting one back through Raphinha, the Whites were unable to find an equaliser after conceding two before the break.

Both of the visitors’ goals came from defensive lapses. And it certainly appeared that some held Pascal Struijk partially responsible for the goal that broke the deadlock.

Struijk initially played Lucas Digne onside. And he was not in the best position as the Frenchman’s cross found its way to Gylfi Sigurdsson.

However, he was not the only player at fault for that particular goal. Neither Cooper or Kalvin Phillips seemed to cover themselves in glory with their tracking of the Toffees captain.

And in truth, to only focus on the goal when discussing Struijk’s performance would be hugely unfair on the 21-year-old.

That is because Struijk was largely one of Leeds’ best performers in the loss.

According to Whoscored.com, no player completed more passes than Struijk. And no player who started the game boasted a better pass-completion rate.

Of course, many of those 65 passes will have been to the likes of Cooper, Luke Ayling and Illan Meslier. But he also proved that he can be progressive with his passing.

He also won three aerial duels. No Leeds teammate won more. And his tally of four interceptions was twice as good as any other player on the pitch.

There are going to be bumps in the road for Struijk. His first start at centre-back for the club came at Anfield on the opening day of the season.

He has often had to come in when Leeds are dealings with injuries. And yet, he has not looked out of place by any means.

It should also be noted that on Wednesday, he was up against Dominic Calvert-Lewin, who has been one of the league’s most impressive strikers this season.

His progress has been remarkable. And, despite the criticism for the opening goal, perhaps it would be fair to say that he has staked a further claim to initially keep his place when Bielsa can turn to the likes of Robin Koch and Diego Llorente once again.