Liam Cooper has responded strongly to a fanâs comment that the current Leeds United team lacks character after they fought back from a goal down to earn a much-deserved point against Brentford on Tuesday night.Â
The Whites headed into last nightâs crunch match with the Bees with their confidence shattered after a gutting 2-0 defeat to Nottingham Forest at the weekend but put in a very strong performance to keep themselves in the automatic promotion places before Fulhamâs game on Wednesday night.
Kiko Casillaâs first-half howler was enough to jangle the nerves even more of the Leeds players as Said Benrahma gleefully unwrapped an absolute gift when the ball rolled straight under the âkeeperâs foot across goal.
However, Leeds did something that they hadnât done in two games and that was scoring, as Casillaâs opposite number had a blunder of his own, failing to deal with a corner, seeing the ball drop to Liam Cooper, who prodded into the goal.
It was a top performance from Leeds that had more suggestions that they werenât letting the bad run get to them, with dominance in possession against the most in-form side in the league over the last 10 games.
It could have been more than just a point for Marcelo Bielsaâs side, but it provides a springboard for a good result on Saturday against Bristol City.Â
Club captain, Cooper, was keen to address the poor form and fansâ discussions over the character shown by the side during the recent woeful run in the last 10 games:
Up next is another tough game for the Whites as they welcome the Robins to Elland Road, looking to keep up their push for automatic promotion with a win as Fulham, Nottingham Forest and Brentford keep up the pace.
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The verdict
Social media has become a somewhat toxic place for the Leeds players as fans become more and more frustrated during the poor run of form.
It might be wise for the players to just ignore the criticism they get from those platforms and not respond because it could just cause more problems.
However, Cooper is right that the character shown by the team isnât really wavering, regardless of the poor form on the pitch.
The Forest result was a tough one to take for Bielsa and his side but the performance against Brentford was just the tonic to lift the spirits of the camp.