Leeds United's staggering defensive record forces Liam Cooper rethink ahead of Man City - YEP 27/4/22
Leeds United did not keep a single Premier League clean sheet during Liam Cooper's three-month injury lay-off earlier this season
By Joe Donnohue
Leeds United captain Liam Cooper has always had to battle
detractors throughout his time at Elland Road.
The Scottish international recently made a comeback to the
side following a three-month injury lay-off, which has coincided with an upturn
in form.
There is little dispute over the impact Cooper has off the
pitch, leading the squad, setting the standard and generally being an example
to the younger, more inexperienced players at Thorp Arch.
However, due to Leeds' uncharacteristic wealth of options in
central defence, the club captain has not always been supporters' first choice
pick in front of goalkeeper Illan Meslier.
This view is somewhat at odds with the team's ability to
earn positive results on the pitch, though. Since Cooper's return to the
starting line-up this month, Leeds have conceded one goal in three matches.
In the Whites' last two league games, the team have
registered back-to-back clean sheets for the first time this season.
During Cooper's three-month absence, which he shared in the
treatment room with fellow defensive lynchpin Kalvin Phillips, Leeds were
unable to record a single shutout over a 15-game period.
That said, attributing Leeds' recent improvement exclusively
to Cooper would ignore the fact they have faced comparatively lesser sides;
Southampton, Watford and Crystal Palace all occupy places in the bottom half of
the Premier League table.
In the reverse fixtures this season, Leeds also conceded
just a single goal against these same opponents. Cooper saw out the full 90
minutes in all six matches, home and away, versus the Saints, Eagles and
Hornets.
Most sobering of all, during the 15-game stretch in which
Cooper was either left out entirely, or only made the substitutes' bench, Leeds
conceded 45 times - an average of three per game.
That is more than nine Premier League teams have conceded
all season, equal to 17th-placed Burnley's goals against column and accounts
for two-thirds of all the goals conceded by Leeds in the top flight this
campaign.
When asked by reporters after the 3-0 win over Watford
earlier this month about Cooper's performance, head coach Jesse Marsch
immediately praised his captain's aerial supremacy: "He won his duels, he
won his aerial duels, he was positionally in the right spot, he was aggressive
against the ball, he was sharp, he didn't lose any balls. I had him speak to
the team afterwards because I told them that I haven't had a better captain in
the entire time I've been a coach.
"He was great," Marsch added. The American was
correct to mention Cooper's ability in the air because despite missing a large
chunk of the season, no Leeds player has contested or won more aerial battles
than Cooper during 2021/22.
His success rate stands at 70%, as per FBRef.com, ranking
him among the best in the league, alongside Virgil van Dijk, Pontus Jansson and
Ben Mee.
At the very least, the data suggests Cooper's physicality
and leadership is paramount to effective rearguard action at Leeds United,
forcing something of a rethink among those detractors of his.
