Lacklustre Leeds United escape from Brighton and Hove Albion with a 0-0 draw

Brighton and Hove Albion comfortably outplayed a Leeds United who were poor in possession and struggled badly in the first 45 minutes in particular to contain their attacks.

It took two good Illan Meslier saves, some poor Seagulls finishing and the bad luck of Solly March hitting the post with the stretching goalkeeper beaten, but the visitors escaped with a point and a clean sheet.

It could have been better still, Robert Sanchez twice making important saves from Leeds substitute Tyler Roberts. For a Welsh Leeds No 11 to have scored the winner on the 10th anniversary of Gary Speed's death would have been the stuff of fairytales but this was more of a grim tale on a bitterly cold night on the south coast.

For Leeds though it had if not a happy ending, then at least a satisfactory one.

They cannot afford to be passing up victories, but theirs was not a performance which came close to deserving one, so a 0-0 was something to take pleasure from. At least the tortuous journeys their supporters went through had not been entirely in vain.

Leeds started the game as if they had been caught cold in the freezing conditions and never really warmed up.

In the early stages the whole of Brighton's "three-quarter line" of right-winger Tariq Lamptey, left-winger Jakub Moder and the man in between them Leandro Trossard caused Leeds constant problems.

When Bielsa reshuffled his pack midway through the first half, moving Kalvin Phillips from centre-back to his more normal midfield position and dropping Stuart Dallas from midfield to right-back to allow Diego Llorente to move inside, two thirds of that equation looked a bit better. But every time Lamptey picked up the ball in the first half, you worried.

Junior Firpo was booked for fouling him in the fifth minute, and never looked comfortable dealing with his pace. It was no surprise the Brazilian left-back made way at half-time. The surprises were that it took that long, and that Pascal Struijk, so good there recently, came on in a defensive midfield position instead.

Marcelo Bielsa later explained Struijk did not have 90 minutes in him.

In fairness, he did improve Leeds from midfielder, even if Jamie Shackleton, who came on with him, looked unconvincing at right-back.

When Lamptey pulled a cross back for Moder in the fourth minute, he shot over. Neal Maupay ballooned a brilliant chance when Lamptey's pull-back deflected to him in the eighth.

Leeds could not break out because too often when they got the ball, they gave it away. Centre-forward Dan James miscontrolled when Raphinha played a dangerous ball to him and failed to get a clean touch when Rodrigo helped the ball on, but just about everyone in lilac was having one of those nights.

Dallas was caught in possession when he should have released Raphinha, who was wearing tights, but Maupay let him off the hook, curling straight at Meslier.

Shortly after the tactical rejig, Meslier made a terrific fingertip save to turn Trossard's shot onto the post, although the officials did not give it the credit it deserved, awarding a goalkick.

Liam Cooper had to make a good block from Maupay when Lamptey steamed past Firpo.

Brighton were not as dominant in the second half, but were still comfortably the better side.

Trossard continued to threaten but an early second-half shot hit a defender, and another was pulled wide.

When Jack Harrison and Dallas - now at left-back - did well to create a chance for Rodrigo, but his shot was as bad as Maupay's in the first half.

Moder wasted two chances around the 64th-minute mark, the first gifted to him by Shackleton's poor backpass. He missed both, under pressure from Llorente from the second.

The much-maligned Roberts brought more to the Leeds attack than the anonymous James had, forcing Sanchez into a save with his feet minutes after coming on.

Sanchez's boot denied him again in the 83rd minute and he had to scramble to bundled Roberts' deflected effort from the corner that followed wide.

But Leeds did not have the monopoly on dangerous substitutes, March hitting the post in the 88th minute with Meslier beaten.

It was just not happening for a Seagulls side who came into the game without a win in even. Leeds could only be grateful that was the case.

Brighton and Hove Albion: Sanchez; Veltman, Webster, Dunk, Cucurella; Bissouma, Gross; Lamptey (March 76), Trossard, Moder (Sarmiento 81); Maupay (Locadia 68).

Unused substitutes: Mac Allister, Mwepu, Lallana, Steele, Duffy, Richards.

Leeds United: Meslier; Llorente, Phillips (Struijk 46), Cooper, Firpo (Shackleton 46); Dallas, Forshaw; Raphinha, Rodrigo, Harrison (Roberts 64); James,

Unused substitutes: Klaesson, Cresswell, McCarron, Jenkins, Klich, Gelhardt.

Referee: Craig Pawson (Sheffield)