The Leeds United player ratings from the City Ground read like a defensive audit passed with distinction, and it is the club-record goalkeeper who leads them. James Trafford was given 8/10 and man of the match by the Yorkshire Evening Post’s Lee Sobot after a commanding competitive debut for the Whites, capped by a clean sheet in Saturday’s 1-0 Premier League win at Nottingham Forest.
Trafford was not alone on eight. Joe Rodon earned the same mark for a display heavy on important tackles and interceptions, fellow debutant Tarik Muharemović matched it with some “lovely turns and neat passes” and a second-half header that very nearly went in, and Jaka Bijol was rated “quite possibly the best defender” on the pitch, per Sobot’s full ratings for the YEP. Jayden Bogle took a 7 for a bright afternoon going forward, while James Justin’s 6 reflected a bruising duel with Ola Aina, who escaped with only a yellow card for a bad challenge on the Leeds wing-back.
What the Leeds United player ratings say about Farke’s back three
“A big save in the first half and a hugely commanding presence, looking rock solid between the sticks,” Sobot wrote of Trafford. “Another clean sheet and this is exactly why Leeds bought him.” Daniel Farke’s Muharemović-Bijol-Rodon trio, meanwhile, held Forest to scraps on Oliver Glasner’s first afternoon in charge.
Harry Wilson had a debut goal ruled out for offside before Anton Stach settled it with a free-kick two minutes from time, as our match report from the City Ground covers. Leeds are back at the same ground on Tuesday for the EFL Cup rematch.
