Warm-up watch
Leeds United had their captain on the bench, but Liam Cooper was not pulling rank as the team went out for their warm-up. The match captain, Robin Koch, was given full respect by Cooper and allowed to lead the team out onto the field.
Later, as the substitutes went through their light-hearted preparations, Luke Ayling, the class clown, thoroughly enjoyed his return to the fold. As the subs were doing strides up the pitch, he and Leo Hjelde could be seen laughing and joking as they mimicked two sprinters competing on a track.
Marsch draws the home support’s ire
One of the minor strands of last season’s narrative in Brentford, was Jesse Marsch’s interactions with the home support. His touchline behaviour has proven to be one of the stories of this season too.
READ MORE: Every word Jesse Marsch said on Leeds United's defeat, red card, Llorente and deadline day
Into the 14th minute on Saturday and Marsch was creeping up the touchline, well out of his technical area, to give Joe Gelhardt free-kick instructions. It did not take long for several locals to stand up and beckon Marsch back to whence he came in their own colourful way.
The ultimate flashpoint would come later in the second half. Predictably, the home support let the head coach know exactly how they felt about his outraged reaction down the touchline when Crysencio Summerville’s flooring was not considered worthy of a VAR referral.
Frank’s caring touch
When Ayling came on he was carrying nearly four months’ worth of frustration and anger after his injury and subsequent surgery at the end of last season. The right-back’s first order of business was competing for a high ball with defender Ben Mee.
The contest would end with both of them on the turf requiring attention from their respective medical teams. After a period spent being checked over, Ayling would be ready to return to the field, but not before Thomas Frank discreetly asked how he was on the touchline.
Jansson reunites with the Leeds faithful
The former Whites defender has never been shy in interacting with supporters before, during or after matches and Saturday was no different. While his previous clashes with Leeds have been fairly low-octane on narrative, he was more than obliging to give the visitors what they wanted with his team coasting to victory.
In the latter stages of the game, the United support gave Pontus Jansson a particularly affectionate nickname, to which he turned and raised his arms, thumbs up, to the away corner.
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