Sunderland star Enzo Le Feestruggled at Elland Road as Leeds United uncovered one of his weaknesses.
Sunderland suffered a late setback against Leeds United at Elland Road as Wilson Isidor’s goal in the first half was overturned by a late Pascal Struijk brace.
It was a performance to be admired by Regis Le Bris’ side, but they couldn’t quite get over the final hurdle as Daniel Farke’s side’s relentless attacking spirit made it too much for them.
Whilst as a whole Sunderland played to a decent level, there was one man who wasn’t quite up to the soaring levels that Black Cats fans have become accustomed to in recent weeks, and that is Enzo Le Fee. Much of it comes down to how Leeds United targeted him, and as a result, it has uncovered a caveat in his game.
Sunderland star Enzo Le Fee had weakness uncovered by Leeds United
Going into the clash, it was expected that Sunderland’s dangermen consisting of French duo Isidor and Le Fee would be the ones to watch for the Black Cats, with the pair having the quality to cause Leeds United serious issues. Whilst the former was able to live up to expectations, Le Fee appeared to be rather quiet.
In previous weeks, the French winger has been electrifying, notably bagging a top goal in a home clash against Luton Town, but he appeared to sit much deeper and was handed fewer opportunities at Elland Road.
Per SofaScore, Le Fee’s average position saw him take up a much deeper role, almost as a full-back as he looked to attempt to diminish the threat of Leeds full-back Jayden Bogle. The Leeds man was the key factor as to why Le Fee wasn’t handed the positional freedom he had become accustomed to in Le Bris’ side, and this ended up having a knock-on effect on the entire side.
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Regis Le Bris should have prioritised overriding wide areas
When looking at the current set-up that Farke favours to deploy, it is clear that Leeds’ strengths lie within their wide areas.
This is something that Sunderland simply wasn’t able to deal with on either flank, with Patrick Roberts being limited to opportunities on the other side.
With the quality that the likes of Dan James, and Manor Solomon, as well as many of their options on the bench hold, this should have been the priority for Le Bris in terms of stopping Leeds United, which could have been done by the centre-back’s supporting the full-back’s much more, which in turn would give the Sunderland wingers a chance to bomb forward more often.