It wasn’t exactly a surprise to see Liam Cooper lining up in the heart of Leeds United’s defence on Sunday afternoon against Aston Villa. The defender has struggled with injuries for most of the season so far, but the month-long lay-off gave him to time needed to regain full fitness and Diego Llorente’s calamitous performance last time out at Brentford well and truly opened the door for his return.
As such, after hinting as much in his pre-match press conference, Marsch gave Cooper the nod to partner Robin Koch at Elland Road and the defender proudly led the Whites out against Steven Gerrard’s side. It was Cooper’s first Premier League start since last season and there was a bit of noticeable rust in the first half.
The skipper showed indecisiveness on one or two occasions and he was at fault losing possession a couple of times, too, as he found his feet and got to grips with the speed of the top flight once more. However, his influence and leadership on the field was quite simply immense, particularly in the second half after the dismissal of Luis Sinisterra, which left Leeds down to 10 men for more than 40 minutes.
