Soccer Football - Premier League - Tottenham Hotspur v Leeds United - Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, London, Britain - November 12, 2022 Leeds United's Rodrigo celebrates scoring their third goal with teammates REUTERS/Dylan Martinez EDITORIAL USE ONLY. No use with unauthorized audio, video, data, fixture lists, club/league logos or 'live' services. Online in-match use limited to 75 images, no video emulation. No use in betting, games or single club /league/player publications. Please contact your account representative for further details.
Reporter Adam Pope has revealed that Rodrigo was left furious with his Leeds United teammate Brenden Aaronson at the weekend.
The Lowdown: Gracia will be desperate to get Rodrigo fit and firing
It will surely have filled many Leeds fans with hope and excitement when the team news dropped on Saturday afternoon as their top scorer Rodrigo was fit enough to take up a spot on the bench.
Javi Gracia felt Rodrigo was only fit enough to play 25 minutes, but it’s certainly better than not having him available at all, which had been the case for the past six games.
However, it appeared to show how long Rodrigo had been out of first-team action, as the Spaniard was left visibly frustrated by Aaronson’s inability to pick him on one key occasion, according to Pope.
The Latest: Leeds must provide Rodrigo with chances
While speaking on the Don’t Go To Bed Just Yet podcast, Pope spoke about Rodrigo’s anger towards Aaronson when he hung onto the ball for too long at one point during in Leeds’ 2-2- draw against Brighton.
He said: “[Gracia] clearly likes Harrison, doesn’t he? If it’s a choice between Harrison and Aaronson, I’m [going] Harrison, I know he hasn’t had a great few weeks, but Harrison’s got assists and he has goals. Aaronson has neither, I’m afraid – and that’s where it falls down, for me.
“He’s busy and he gives everything, but he doesn’t get his head up. He doesn’t get Rodrigo down the left side. Rodrigo was going mental, wasn’t he, at the end there. He was absolutely livid with that.”
The Verdict: Rodrigo’s key to Leeds staying up
Something that could well give Leeds an advantage over other teams in the battle against the drop is a reliable goalscorer this season, and Rodrigo could be that man.
Only eight players have scored more than Rodrigo in the division, with none of those at clubs in the bottom half of the league.
Goals are the hardest thing to come across in football, so the fact that Rodrigo appears to have finally found his feet in the Premier League will be huge for Leeds and Gracia if they are to stay up this campaign.
If Leeds can manage to keep Rodrigo fit for the rest of the season, they will certainly back themselves to avoid the drop, especially if others such as Wilfried Gnonto and Patrick Bamford can contribute with the odd goal here and there as the latter did on Saturday.
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