'No awareness' - BBC man slams 'poor' Leeds ace who lost possession 14 times vs Man City

Former Premier League midfielder Danny Murphy has criticised Leeds United forward Rodrigo over one moment in the 4-0 defeat against Manchester City. 

The Whites ended up on the wrong side of a mauling at Elland Road despite being competitive in the contest for the most part.

Goals from Rodri, Nathan Ake, Gabriel Jesus and Fernandinho condemned Jess Marsch’s side to a defeat which leaves Leeds 17th in the Premier League, five points clear of Everton, who have two games in hand.

Despite the heavy scoreline, the hosts were able to carve out opportunities to attack, although one pundit was less than impressed with the quality in the final third.

Speaking live on Match of the Day (Saturday, April 30), former Liverpool ace Murphy slammed Rodrigo for his inability to find Raphinha and take advantage of a promising moment.

The 45-year-old fumed: “These are the moments you don’t get very often against the top sides. In the first half, they have quite a few of them. No awareness, don’t even think he knew he was there. Ends up being a poor shot.”

Overall the Spaniard lost possession 14 times (third-most of any Leeds player), misplaced nine of his 32 passes (28%) and was replaced on 83 minutes following a 6.60 rated display from Sofascore.

Despite the calibre of opposition, this was a below-par performance from Rodrigo and his team-mates which leaves Marsch’s side fully embroiled in a relegation battle in the run-in.

The 31-year-old remains on six goals and one assist from 30 appearances this season in the frequent absences of Patrick Bamford, a far from fearsome tally from the versatile Spaniard. Indeed, criticisms like the one from Murphy might explain why goals have been so hard to come by for him, if he keeps making the wrong