Leeds United 5 Stoke City 0 - player ratings

With the pressure of the promotion race ramping up, Leeds United laid on an outstanding performance to brush Stoke City aside 5-0 at Elland Road.
GOALSCORER: Helder Costa was one of a number of outstanding performers for Leeds UnitedGOALSCORER: Helder Costa was one of a number of outstanding performers for Leeds United
GOALSCORER: Helder Costa was one of a number of outstanding performers for Leeds United

The only players who were not exceptional were those who did not have to be, with the Whites barely tested by a relegation-threatened and utterly unambitious Stoke City side.

A penalty late in the first half from Mateusz Klich and a goal early in the second from Helder Costa made it a question of how many Leeds would score as their forward-thinking players produced an excellent display of passing football.

Here, Stuart Rayner rates the Leeds players.

Illan Meslier – a privileged spectator 6

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Luke Ayling – comfortable day at right-back, then right centre-back 6

Ben White – one excellent sweeping first-half pass, but little defending to do 7

Liam Cooper – a popular and well-taken goal 7

Stuart Dallas – moved to midfield in the second half and produced the sublime pass for Helder Costa's goal 8

Kalvin Phillips – spread the play well in the first half 7

Mateusz Klich – missed a good chance from a Stuart Dallas pass, but he had already scored the breakthrough penalty by then 7

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Tyler Roberts – thwarted a couple of times but a very lively first-half presence 8

Jack Harrison – missed a good chance but still did enough to deserve his early rest 6

Helder Costa – an excellent performance in his first game since signing permanently 7

Patrick Bamford – got his goal at the end, an excellent dummy for Cooper's goal too 7

Substitutes:

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Pablo Hernandez (for Roberts, 46) – showed his class and scored a goal too 8

Barry Douglas (for Dallas, 75) – game was over by the time he came on N/A

Jamie Shackleton (for Klich, 78) – N/A

Ezgjan Alioski (for Harrison, 78) – N/A

Gaetano Berardi (for Cooper, 83) – N/A

Not used: Poveda, Berardi, Miazek, Struijk, Stevens.

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