Forget Raphinha: "Disinterested" LUFC dud with just 27 touches cost Bielsa dearly v Ev - opinion

Despite an encouraging performance in their midweek fixture, Marcelo Bielsa’s Leeds United side once again found themselves on the wrong end of a heavy Premier League defeat on Saturday afternoon, with Everton running out comfortable 3-0 winners at Goodison Park in the 3pm kick-off.

The Whites were unfortunate to lose Stuart Dallas to injury in just the ninth minute of the match, but even if the Northern Ireland international had remained on the pitch for the full duration, it would be difficult to argue that Leeds would have taken something away from the game, so disappointing was their overall performance.

Indeed, Bielsa’s usual star man Raphinha was ineffective on the right wing before being hooked at half-time, Mateusz Klich was a passenger in the middle of the park before he too was brought off at the interval and Daniel James once again offered next to nothing when leading the line for the Whites.

Of the three, it will undoubtedly be the £24m summer signing from Manchester United who is most disappointed with his performance this afternoon. Following his brace against Aston Villa on Wednesday, it finally seemed as if the 24-year-old had turned a corner for the Elland Road outfit.

However, over the course of his 90 minutes on the pitch against the Toffees, the £16.2m-rated forward struggled to ever really get his foot on the ball, enjoying just 27 touches, completing eight passes and managing only one shot at the Everton goal (which failed to hit the target).

Furthermore the £52k-per-week Wales international also committed two fouls – one of which was a cynical swipe at Richarlison which earned him a booking – lost nine of his 12 duels (a failure rate of 75%) and ceded possession on 12 separate occasions, meaning he