Good day for Leeds United's makeshift man, bad day for journalist and off-camera Everton moments - YEP 31/8/22

The Premier League is at its best not when the super-rich are putting nine goals past an outgunned newly promoted side, but when two teams like Leeds United and Everton go toe-to-toe in a ferocious atmosphere and share the spoils.

By Graham Smyth

You couldn’t take your eyes off it for a second, on and off the pitch, as the two teams and their respective sets of fans snarled their way through 90 angsty minutes.

Here’s the YEP take on an eventful night at Elland Road.

Good day

Luis Sinisterra – We didn’t see all of his ability and he wasn’t in the game for every minute but he made a telling impact and whetted appetites for his next trick. What a goal.

Illan Meslier – Some distribution issues aside, Meslier has already proven his worth this season with some incredible saves. His ability to get the better of attackers in one-v-one situations is remarkable. Leeds will undoubtedly receive expressions of interest over the next 12 months from Champions League clubs if he continues with this kind of form. His value, right now, would be eye-watering.

Patrick Bamford – He might not have scored, but he’s back on the pitch. Reminded everyone of how well he can look after the ball.

Pascal Struijk – Looking better and better at left-back. Still not perfect and has been caught out of position, just like Rasmus Kristensen on the other side, but his defending has given Leeds a solid look at times and he’s improving the offensive side of his game. His calmness in possession is remarkable, even in tight spaces.

Bad day

Darren England – Did not give a great account of himself at all. It has to be said, though, that refereeing a game in which one team sets out to time waste from the off, against another team that wants to play high octane stuff, in an atmosphere like that, is a difficult, difficult task.

Rodrigo – Another injury that will likely keep him out for between three and 12 weeks, just when he seemed to be putting another run together in the starting line-up, scoring goals and getting into positions in which to score more. The shoulder problem looked agonising and Leeds face an anxious wait to discover the extent of the damage, once the swelling has subsided.

This correspondent – Tyler Adams was an 8/10, not a 6/10. Sometimes the ratings, compiled in a spare moment between writing a 1,000-word match verdict and back page story for a 10.40pm print deadline and attending a press conference, will be false. Sorry. It will happen again.

Off-camera moments

Stuart Dallas, Luke Ayling and Liam Cooper getting a cheer from a bunch of school kids as they traversed the pitch before the game in their civvies.

Ex-Everton man Joel Robles chatting with Jordan Pickford and Tom Davies. Mateusz Klich catching up with former Leeds man Andy Lonergan.

Victor Orta joining another Leeds old boy, Erik Bakke, and Jan Åge Fjørtoft for a pitchside broadcast interview and then sharing a huge hug with Salomon Rondon, who he signed for Zenit St Petersburg.

Bakke, in his smart shoes, curling a stray ball from the touchline to Rene Maric in the middle of the Elland Road pitch. Maric living his best life, a huge grin adorning his face as he and Mark Jackson passed a ball around. The Austrian then performing a fancy flick to team manager Matt Grice, whose first touch let him down.

Majority owner Andrea Radrizzani putting himself front and centre, pre-game, deep in conversation with club doctor Rishi Dhand and head of medicine Rob Price in the Leeds technical area.

Joe Gelhardt, Sam Greenwood and Bamford taking shots for the crossbar from distance at the end of the warm-up, ‘Joffy’ fizzing one right into a bag held open by the assistant kit man.

Marsch’s watch-pointing antics and Frank Lampard’s shakes of the head and gesture to the Leeds fans giving him grief as the temperature rose on the touchline in the first half.

Maric getting a rise out of Lampard and sparking a confrontation between the two benches, while Kristensen and Anthony Gordon went head-to-head on the pitch.

Marsch and Lampard sharing a smile and a hearty handshake at full-time and putting 90 minutes of sniping and griping behind them.