A horrible youngster, Marcelo Bielsa's touchline frustration and Stuart Dallas worry in Leeds United's Everton defeat - YEP 13/2/22

A midfield problem that proved insurmountable and further injury woes made it a bleak day for Marcelo Bielsa's Leeds United at Everton.

By Graham Smyth

The early loss of Stuart Dallas, the late knock sustained by the man who replaced him - Leo Hjelde - will be areas of concern for Bielsa this week in the lead up to the Manchester United game. Leeds' head coach has plenty of other concerns, however, in the wake of a bitterly disappointing 3-0 defeat on Merseyside.

Here's the YEP take on it all.

Good day

Anthony Gordon

The 20-year-old was mustard, giving Leeds United a horrible time of it from start to finish. He can consider himself very fortunate to have been credited for the third goal but he deserved huge plaudits for his performance. His pace made him a nightmare to stop and he had space in which to build up speed and momentum. Blowing past Diego Llorente as if he wasn't there allowed him to start the move that eventually ended in Seamus Coleman's 10th minute goal.

Richarlison

The most interested and the most effective he has looked against Leeds in any fixture. A handful for the back line. When he got on the ball he was a problem, drawing men in and making it difficult for them to get near the ball without risking a foul.

Leo Hjelde

Thrown into a difficult game early on to play left-back, the young centre-back was largely solid and played some nice stuff. Clearly has lots of confidence, was happy to bomb forward. The sight of him limping down the tunnel wasn't good though, given Stuart Dallas' early injury.

Bad day

Raphinha

It's not often the winger plays poorly but that's two games in a row he's struggled to make much of an impact in. He had his moments in the first half but not enough of them and Marcelo Bielsa withdrew him at the break.

Marcelo Bielsa

Admitted he got the midfield wrong and the gaping hole that Everton filled with players was a huge problem for Leeds. The Whites' plan simply didn't work, they couldn't attack or defend particularly well in the first half and Rodrigo's two shots that thumped against the crossbar did little to paper over the cracks.

Mateusz Klich

Put in a role that wasn't suited to his strengths, he was over-run by the Everton midfield and had too much to do. Taken off at the break when perhaps he could have provided more help to Adam Forshaw than Rodrigo did in the second half.

Number of the day

Leeds didn't have a single shot on target. Rodrigo hit the crossbar twice with speculative efforts that showed his technique but truth be told the visitors didn't deserve a breakthrough. They had more possession than their hosts but created little in the way of cohesive attacking play.

Turning point

Kick-off

Leeds weren't at it from the start, the set-up was wrong and Everton pressed so ferociously from the outset that the visitors never really settled. Any time a defender looked up he had a blue shirt bearing down on him and resorting to long, aerial balls played right into the Toffees' hands.

Off-camera moments

Raphinha appeared to have some sort of issue in the warm-up. The Brazilian summoned physio Henry McStay for a chat and the Irishman was seen speaking into his mic, presumably alerting his boss Rob Price to whatever the situation was. Raphinha carried on with the warm-up however and was fine to start the game. He only lasted 45 minutes but Bielsa insisted the half-time switch was a tactical one and not due to injury.

For the second time in a week Luke Ayling had a reunion with a goalkeeper he played with previously. At Goodison Park it was Andy Lonegran. The duo shared a laugh on the halfway line during the warm-up.

Mateusz Klich was all smiles too when he clipped a beautiful swerving, dipping shot in off the crossbar just as Graham Scott and his officials trotted past during their warm-up. The shot didn't escape the referee's notice and he shared a joke with Klich as he ran past. That was the last laugh for Klich on a tough afternoon.

The mood darkened for Leeds from kick-off onwards and the frustration could be seen in Bielsa's body language. He was in the ear of the fourth official, making complaints, and clearly became irritated with time wasting with Everton two goals up. The failure of his players to complete passes also visibly irked him. At full-time when he had to do his pitchside interview duties and there was a delay while the broadcaster spoke to someone else, he was flanked by his translater and a member of the Leeds media team but there no was no conversation to be had as he simply stared into the middle distance contemplating a bleak afternoon on Merseyside.

Dallas' early injury is a real worry for Leeds given how much football the Ulsterman has played in recent seasons and the various roles he covers. It was evident from the first couple of minutes, after a coming together with Alex Iwobi on the touchline, that Dallas was struggling to move. His initial signal to the bench suggested he was done, yet he tried gamely to carry on. But with each glance towards the technical area it became more and more apparent that his race was run.

At least the Leeds fans who travelled were still fully engaged at full-time and beyond. Their support was rewarded with a number of match-worn shirts including that of Adam Forshaw, who hurled it to a supporter as he headed for the tunnel.