Leeds United possible departee's good day, veteran's bad day, mood change and off-camera moments - YEP 17/12/22

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Leeds United have ticked another mid-season break box with a 2-1 win over Real Sociedad in an Elland Road friendly, as Jesse Marsch’s preparations for the Premier League restart continue.

By Graham Smyth

Marsch’s men were better than the showing against Elche last week and worthy of the victory, although still not in full flow or flight.

Here’s the YEP take on a bitterly cold night at Elland Road.

Good day

Cody Drameh

The right-back continues to impress, having flown through the week of training out in Spain. He was the best of Jesse Marsch's second half substitutes and looked perfectly at home. He's in for an interesting January, but if he remains a Leeds player in February then something will have gone very right for him and for the club. It'll have to be something big, you'd think.

Willy Gnonto

Thrown into the starting XI at late notice, Gnonto was at it from the start and the attention given to him by Real Sociedad was a painful compliment. But he stuck at it and played a role in the winner, getting at least some reward for a tireless shift that showcased his speed and footwork.

Jesse Marsch

A friendly it may have been but Marsch still needed to show and to see a step forward from the Elche performance. This game wasn't a cracker, the performance wasn't sparkling but it was a step forward. And what's more, Rene Maric did post-game press duties for him, so he didn't have to face the obligatory January transfer questions.

Bad day

Adam Forshaw

The midfielder still looks rusty. He had a difficult game at Elche in the double pivot and didn't fare a lot better in a midfield three alongside Marc Roca and Mateusz Klich. If he turns up and turns it on against Manchester City, no one will care much about these friendlies, but Sam Greenwood will be gunning for that position.

Jack Harrison

Few things can be so frustrating for a footballer than feeling something in the warm-up and being denied the reward of a game at the end of a week's training. At least, according to Rene Maric, it wasn't an injury and he should be fine for Manchester City.

Off-camera moments

Forshaw interrupted his warm up passing drill with Klich to have a selfie with a young fan. The friendly attracted first timers and fans who would ordinarily find it difficult to get their hands on Elland Road tickets.

Tyler Adams wasn't playing but he was present, wrapped up in a quilted jacket on the touchline as Leeds prepared for the game, greeting his team-mates as they came back to the tunnel for their final moments in the dressing room.

Diego Llorente was there too and explained his absence to his former Real Sociedad colleagues, pointing to a bandage covering the hand that was operated on in Murcia. He should be ready to face Manchester City, though.

There was another La Real themed catch up on the sidelines when Cameron Toshack engaged with Real Sociedad boss Imanol Alguacil, who was managed by Cameron's father John at Atotxa Stadium.

Dani van den Heuvel did his bit to gather in the last remaining bits of kit and footballs to assist the kitman at the end of the warm-up.

Rasmus Kristensen was back from the World Cup and getting stuck in early doors. He was soon getting pats on the head from staff members after winning the ball back near the corner flag to set Leeds on the attack immediately prior to Struijk's goal.

'Jesse, Jesse give us a wave' rang out from the South Stand. It took him a moment or two to decipher the chant and then his wave was muted, but it was a wave all the same. But it got a cheer.

Marsch's mood changed when he was so incensed by the lack of free-kick for Rodrigo that he slammed his hand to the turf and inadvertently put his hood up.

With second half changes making the Leeds side a young, inexperienced one, Ayling played the captain role, letting Mateo Joseph know he had to switch on a little more after La Real passed it far too easily out from the back.

Willy Gnonto's reward for an impressive showing was a two-handed shove in the chest by assistant head coach Rene Maric.

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