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News
BBC pundit reacts to Rasmus Kristensen’s display against Crystal Palace
Simon Walton has told that Rasmus Kristensen was outstanding defensively during Leeds United’s defeat to Crystal Palace on Sunday – though he is yet to see enough from him going forward since his arrival at Elland Road.
Kristensen has not had the easiest time since arriving in the summer. It was immediately clear that Leeds were getting a player who would give everything to the cause.
However, it seemed ominous that he was outmuscled by Pedro Neto in the opening day win over Wolves. And his positioning has been questioned at times.
He has improved. But some supporters may have been tempted to hand Luke Ayling a start against Palace with a prospective battle with Wilfried Zaha on the cards.
Jesse Marsch stuck by Kristensen however. And, while it proved to be a disappointing day for Leeds, the Dane was excellent at Selhurst Park.
Rasmus Kristensen was outstanding
Marsch claimed after the game that Kristensen had his best game yet for Leeds. And Walton agreed – though he did express some concern about how little an impact he is making at the other end of the pitch.
“I thought he was very good defensively. I thought he certainly got the better in his one-vs-one battle with Wilfried Zaha. And we know how good he can be on his day and that was an area I’m sure we were all worried about before the start of the game,” .
“But listen, I thought he was outstanding defensively. He defended aggressively without going overboard. He didn’t leave massive gaps in behind which he’s been susceptible to. And he’s slowly starting to find his feet.
“Full-backs now have to give something at both ends of the pitch. And I’m yet to see his forward-thinking attributes and his attacking input on games,” he added.
It is not going to get any easier for Kristensen this coming weekend. Leeds face Arsenal at Elland Road. And with that, the 25-year-old is set to come up against Gabriel Martinelli.
Martinelli has been one of the best players in the Premier League this season. So Kristensen will definitely be put to the test.
You can understand why Kristensen was not so confident going forward on Sunday. Obviously, he would have been wary of leaving Zaha with too much space in behind.
And Leeds’ width came down the left flank, with Jack Harrison and Pascal Struijk causing plenty of problems in the first-half.
On the right, Kristensen had Brenden Aaronson in front of them. And Aaronson is someone who likes to work in the half space. So the right-back probably had less support from a defensive perspective.