Spanish media slam former Leeds United star after Europa League nightmare display, ‘he almost always’

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With Leeds United’s return to the Premier League, some changes within the squad have followed, as old favourites move on and fresh faces make their way in.

So far, the Whites have adjusted well to the step up in division, winning two of their opening five games to sit in mid-table.

It remains to be seen whether Daniel Farke can keep that momentum going, but Leeds will fancy their chances.

While fans have had a glimpse of how the new stars could do, such as Anton Stach’s impressive start at the club, they will also have an eye open for how some of their former players are getting on.

For one of them, it was a nightmare start in the Europa League against familiar Premier League opposition, which has brought about some concern.

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Junior Firpo slammed by Spanish media after poor match against Nottingham Forest

One of the players to leave Leeds United over the summer was Junior Firpo.

The 29-year-old came to the end of his four-year deal with the club, following his move from Barcelona, which made him a free agent.

The left-back opted for a return to Spain, re-joining his old club Real Betis, where he initially broke through into senior football.

He signed a three-year deal, but the return to the Europa League was far from a dream for the Dominican Republic international.

Firpo struggled to keep up with the play in a defensive sense, as Nottingham Forest took the lead against Real Betis thanks to two goals from Igor Jesus.

The former Leeds man was then brought off at half-time, with the Spanish media slamming his display.

Diario Sport gave him a two out of ten rating and said: “He gave Gibbs-White a lot of space in the 1-1 draw and showed a lot of insecurity in every defensive action. Very little in attack.”

That criticism was similar to that of El Desmarque, which awarded him a three out of ten rating.

The outlet said: “Another wasted opportunity. He gives off a tremendous sense of insecurity. He almost always arrives late and doesn’t even contribute to the attack. He’s overwhelmed by his flank, although (yes) he didn’t have much help from Abde either. A fact that says it all. He lost 75% of his duels.”

It sums up a tough evening for Firpo, but an important point was rescued by Betis, thanks to Antony.

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Manuel Pellegrini criticises Real Betis left-flank against Nottingham Forest

It’s unclear just how certain Firpo’s position in the Betis team will now be, but their manager, Manuel Pellegrini, questioned the overall structure of the left flank.

Speaking after the game about the issues on Firpo’s side, he said: “Substitutions always depend on how the players come in. I think we had quite a few problems down the left flank.”

It was the 29-year-old’s fifth appearance since returning to Real Betis, where he has been in and out of the team.

A run of three La Liga starts in a row certainly suggested that he was picking up some momentum, but the former Leeds man will need to bounce back from a tough evening once again.