Liam Cooper made a timely return from injury on Friday night, captaining Leeds United to a 2-0 victory over Derby County.

Leeds’ skipper had been absent since the victory over Sheffield United on December 1, after requiring surgery on a knee injury picked up at Bramall Lane.

And, Cooper breezed through his return against Derby, with the 27-year-old rarely troubled by Jack Marriott, David Nugent or Martyn Waghorn.

In our latest FLW Spotlight, we take a look at Cooper’s 2018/19 so far:

A couple of different injury problems have limited Cooper to only 19 appearances this season, with the centre-back returning three goals in that time.

Defensively, his contribution has been how you would expect, with Cooper averaging 1.8 tackles per game and 4.8 clearances.

In addition to that he’s winning over five aerial duels every time he takes to field, highlighting his dominance.

Key to Bielsa’s style is how Leeds dominate the ball, with Cooper heavily involved in that, making 62.6 passes per game, which come at an incredible 80.6% success rate.

The Verdict

Cooper was a player that hadn’t convinced until Bielsa came in, but his importance to the side now is evident, with these stats confirming that.

He’s solid in defence and is a key part of Leeds building attacks from the back, with his accurate passing something the player can be really proud of.

It’s worth remembering that Leeds entered their clash with Derby on Friday on the back of three defeats, but with Cooper back in the team it seemed that everyone knew their role, with the captain’s presence making a real difference.

His partnership with Pontus Jansson is important, whilst he brings the best out of others ahead of him, including Adam Forshaw.

The 27-year-old dominates games under Bielsa and is a key reason why Leeds are in the thick of a promotion race.

Thoughts? Let us know!