There were very few positives to take from Leeds United’s lacklustre 1-0 loss at Brighton and Hove Albion on Saturday. The Whites were convincingly second best at the Amex Stadium as Graham Potter’s side negated Leeds’ pressing game and made their dominance count with a second-half goal from Pascal Gross.
Hardly any could leave the south coast with their heads held high as their unbeaten run came to an end. Edges were stretched, the midfield battle was lost and the attacking line failed to fire, but one man who could be content with his efforts was Robin Koch.
The German turned in another sturdy and robust performance in the middle of Jesse Marsch’s backline on the south coast to nullify the threat of Danny Welbeck. He was cool presence while others were struggling to cope with Brighton’s prowess, movement and all round threat.
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Although the Premier League season is just four games old it seems Koch is making a habit of such performances, too, emerging as one of the most reliable performers in Jesse Marsch’s new look Leeds. Of course, the likes of Rodrigo, Jack Harrison and Brenden Aaronson have picked up the plaudits so far this time around, but Koch deserves a nod for his reliable work.
The centre-back hasn’t always found it easy in West Yorkshire since his move from Freiburg in 2020. Injuries severely hampered his progress during his first campaign under Marcelo Bielsa, making just 13 starts for the Whites.
His second season didn’t exactly go to plan either, with injury again severely limiting his game time as Leeds battled against the drop. That meant that when he did play he was often asked to play out of position, making awkward appearances at centre-midfield or right-back.
However, this season feels like a fresh start for Koch, who still has two years left to run on his Elland Road contract. Speak to anyone associated with the first team at Thorp Arch and they’ll tell you Koch was one of those who caught the eye in training over pre-season as he returned for his third season at the club with the bit between his teeth.
The 26-year-old looked the part during the club’s friendlies, too, building up a partnership with Diego Llorente, who, incidentally, struggled to make such a strong impression against the Seagulls on Saturday. That form has carried into the season and despite appearing to be far from guaranteed a spot in Marsch’s side over the off-season, he seems to have established himself within the backline.
Leeds fans have been made to wait to see Koch performing consistently in the backline, but hopefully that reliability can now start to shine through on a regular basis. The defender produced solid performances against Wolves and Southampton in Leeds’ opening two games of the season.
His efforts against Chelsea were pivotal, though, frustrating and denying the likes of Raheem Sterling, Mason Mount and Kai Havertz the time and space needed to hurt Leeds. The performance against Brighton was a confident one, despite the result, and with games starting to come thick and fast he’ll hope to build on that in the coming weeks to secure his spot as Liam Cooper prepares to step back into contention.
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