Leeds United‘s woes at the top end of the pitch continued on Sunday as they were held to a 0-0 draw by Sunderland at the Stadium of Light in the Premier League.
The Whites are seventh in the division after eight games, which is a terrific place to be, but they have drawn five of those matches and have struggled to find an extra gear offensively to turn those draws into wins.
Either side of a 4-1 win over Newcastle United at Elland Road, Daniel Farke‘s side have only scored five goals in seven matches in the Premier League this season.
One of the players who was culpable for the team’s struggles in the final third against the Black Cats was summer signing Harry Wilson, who was given a rare start.
How Harry Wilson failed to take his chance to impress
The Wales international started for only the second time in the Premier League this season for the Whites, and failed to produce a performance to suggest that he deserves more starts moving forward.
It was not an ideal game for a player like Wilson, who does possess outstanding physicality or speed, as the ball was in the air a lot due to the conditions, but he did not do enough with the chances that he did have on the ball.
The former Fulham star came off the pitch in the 66th minute without completing a single dribble or taking any shots on goal, whilst he lost five of his seven duels.
|
Vs Sunderland |
Harry Wilson |
|---|---|
|
Minutes |
66 |
|
Shots |
0 |
|
Big chances created |
1 |
|
Assists |
0 |
|
Successful dribbles |
0/2 |
|
Duels won |
2/7 |
|
Possession lost |
12x |
To his credit, he did create a ‘big chance’ for Tarik Muharemovic from a corner, but his lack of impact from open play is illustrated perfectly by his dismal statistics.
Wilson failed to make the most of his opportunity to start, given the lack of quality that he displayed on the pitch, and that could see him dropped back down to the bench.
Worse than Wilson: Why 4/10 Leeds star must never start again
As underwhelming as the Welshman was for the West Yorkshire outfit, he was not the worst performer for Farke’s side at the Stadium of Light on Sunday.
Brenden Aaronson was selected to play alongside Wilson in the number ten positions behind Dominic Calvert-Lewin, and he ended up being the worst performer on the pitch for Leeds.
The USA international’s performance was predictably disappointing, which makes it worse, and that is why he should not start another league game for the club before possibly being moved on in January.
Prior to the trip to Wearside, Aaronson had not scored a goal or created a single chance, let alone a ‘big chance’, for his teammates in six Premier League appearances this season.
Whilst he created his first two chances of the league campaign at the Stadium of Light, the American flop once again failed to create any ‘big chances’ to set his teammates up for a goal.
The 26-year-old attacking midfielder was too much of a lightweight throughout the evening, losing possession ten times from 22 touches and winning just one duel, losing 75% (3/4) of his physical contests.
|
Rating Leeds players vs Sunderland |
|
|---|---|
|
Player |
Rating |
|
James Trafford |
8.5 |
|
James Justin |
7 |
|
Jaka Bijol |
8 |
|
Tarik Muharemovic |
7 |
|
Jayden Bogle |
6 |
|
Ethan Ampadu |
7 |
|
Ao Tanaka |
6 |
|
Gabriel Gudmundsson |
6 |
|
Harry Wilson |
4 |
|
Brenden Aaronson |
3 |
|
Dominic Calvert-Lewin |
5 |
Aaronson was even worse than Wilson in the draw with Sunderland because he did not create any ‘big chances’, whilst the Welshman did, and he won half as many duels and made a quarter as many defensive contributions (one) during his time on the pitch.
It was a dismal showing from the former Salzburg man, but it was not a display that would have come as a surprise to many Leeds supporters, given the form that he has been in this year.
Aaronson has failed to score in each of his last 24 appearances in the Premier League for Leeds since scoring two goals against Newcastle United in January, whilst he has also only provided two assists in that time.
When you consider that he has also lost 64% of his duels in the Premier League and is not offering much to the side from a physical perspective, his lack of impact at the top end of the pitch is even worse.
Aaronson has not been anywhere near good enough in the league since that game against Newcastle nine months ago, and his performance against Sunderland is further proof why Farke should never start him again in the top-flight.
