Fewer touches than Meslier: £100k-p/w Leeds dud who lost 70% duels nearly cost Marsch - opinion

A late injury-time goal from Pascal Struijk kept Leeds United’s hopes of remaining in the Premier League alive heading into the final game of the season after a 1-1 draw with Brighton and Hove Albion at Elland Road.

Jesse Marsch’s side went behind to an early, albeit well-deserved, goal from Danny Welbeck but a raucous home support just about saw the Yorkshire giants over the line.

Whites striker Joe Gelhardt, who had gone close to an equaliser himself, bundled the ball across goal for the Belgian-born colossus to slot home and the draw meant that Leeds moved one point clear of the relegation zone.

However, Burnley have a game in hand in midweek, so they could be two points behind heading into the final game of the 2021/22 season.

It could have been an all too different story in west Yorkshire, though, as Marsch’s attacking struggles continued once again and that can’t be too much of a surprise as he constantly persists with the inclusion of Rodrigo, who has been nothing short of a flop.

On an afternoon where he managed fewer touches (40) than all but one fellow starter, including goalkeeper Illan Meslier (52), he failed to contribute anything of note in the final third in another “anonymous” outing.

Throughout the 90 minutes, the Spaniard failed to register a single shot on target, also failing to do much with the ball as he made just 68% of his 28 passing attempts, via SofaScore.

Rodrigo also appeared to be lightweight in his battles, winning only 30% of his ten duels and also losing possession of the ball 12 times, once every 3.3 touches.

LeedsLive journalist Beren Cross also noted the £13.5m-rated passenger’s poor display in his post-match ratings column, where he wrote: ‘Gathered himself after the break with one