Leeds United returned to winning ways as they beat 10-man Cardiff City 2-0 in the Welsh capital on Saturday afternoon.
Joel Bagan was sent off for the Bluebirds in the 23rd minute before Largie Ramazani netted half an hour into his full debut.
The West Yorkshire outfit dominated proceedings throughout and despite a poor second half, in which Pascal Struijk had a penalty saved by Jak Alnwick, they managed to bag a second courtesy of Joel Piroe to seal all three points.
Here, MOT Leeds News ranked each player out of 10.
Illan Meslier – 6
Didn’t have much to do, solid when called upon but was never really tested in the first half aside from one misplaced pass and a long-range effort from Rubin Colwill. Same again in the second half aside from the 87th minute where the ‘keeper denied Anwar El-Ghazi the chance to take the game to 2-1.
Jayden Bogle – 6
Played a very attacking role and helped ease the attacking burden for Willy Gnonto, but failed to create much. Had a much better second half and got into better positions from the off, played a part in Leeds’ penalty miss.
Joe Rodon – 7
Solid. Never had much to do in the first half, but kept Leeds’ defence in line and stopped Cardiff from getting anything from the game.
Pascal Struijk – 5
Had hold of the ball for a lot of the first half, very progressive passing and made good use of Firpo to his left. Did make a few fouls throughout the clash but nothing too serious, missed the Whites’ penalty in the 66th minute to put the game out of sight.
Junior Firpo – 7
Played decently, MCL injury slightly hampered him, perhaps not as explosive as he has been in previous games, managed to try to create a couple of chances but most were met to no avail, however, he did manage to find himself the cause of some sideline Farke shouting after losing the ball in the 60th minute.
Ethan Ampadu – 7
Helped keep Leeds’ defensive line strong and made a few solid passes but didn’t have much to do throughout the clash. Had a darting forward run in the 65th minute that resulted in Leeds being awarded a penalty.
Illia Gruev – 5
Misplaced a few passes in the first half and had many opportunities to make the game 1-0 in the first 15 minutes, could’ve done better in attack and was eventually subbed towards the end of the game, not his best day in a Leeds shirt.
Largie Ramazani shines on full Leeds United debut
Willy Gnonto – 8
Found himself covering every blade of grass and attempted to create chances out of very little service, managed to play a part in Cardiff going down to 10 men after being taken down by Joel Bagan.
Brenden Aaronson – 8
Started the game well, helped create the best chance of the first 15 minutes, and carried on his Leeds redemption arc after another solid performance, strong free kick but well saved by Jak Alnwick. Assisted Leeds’ second that Piroe managed to bury from a tight angle, solid game once again.
Largie Ramazani – 9
An impressive start, made a couple of chances for Leeds throughout the tie and managed to bag the opening goal of the game and, after darting past Perry Ng coolly placed the ball in the bottom corner. Man of the match.
Mateo Joseph – 7 (Off for Tanaka 89′)
Didn’t have much to do in the first half, found himself out of position a few times and missed opportunities but managed to almost put the ball behind Alnwick in the 33rd minute with a curling effort, got better as the game went on.
Substitutions
Sam Byram (on for Bogle 83′) – N/A
Joel Piroe (on for Ramazani 83′) – 8
With his first attack after coming off the bench, the striker calmly collected the ball during a counter-attack and helped confirm the Whites’ win and took the game to 2-0.
Ao Tanaka (on for Joseph 89′) – N/A
Joe Rothwell (On for Gruev 89′) N/A
Isaac Schmidt (On for Gnonto 91′) N/A