Georginio Rutter was among the assists as he fed Wilfried Gnonto to score Leeds United’s second during the enthralling 3-3 draw against Portsmouth, but opponents have found a way to stop him.
That is according to BBC Radio Leeds pundit and former Elland Road star Aidy White, who was on co-commentary duties on Saturday. Leeds failed to pick up all three points as Portsmouth held The Whites.
That is despite an early barrage from Daniel Farke’s side. The crossbar was rattled three times by Leeds before Pascal Struijk slotted a penalty on 10 minutes, early dominance matching pre-game expectation.
However, Portsmouth lead 2-1 at the break. Two shots, two goals as John Mousinho’s side came from behind and capitalised on defensive mistakes. Gnonto immediately restored parity after the break.
But Portsmouth were not done, scoring a 92nd-minute goal to go 3-2 up. Brenden Aaronson equalised, only his second goal for Leeds, before missing a glorious chance to win the game 4-3 at Elland Road.
Opponents find a way to stop Leeds’ club-record signing Rutter
Having had a hand in 24 goals and assists in 51 games last season, Rutter has become a targeted man. Not just on the pitch, but off it too after Brighton had a bid of £30m rejected for the French attacker.
Of those 24 involvements, 16 were assists and on Saturday he laid on Gnonto’s effort. But on the whole, it was a largely frustrating afternoon for Rutter and White thinks other teams now know how to stop him.
Hit and miss. He draws a lot of fouls. Everybody knows what it is about now and opposition are looking at it and thinking, well, you can’t let him turn, so they are holding onto him, if he does turn, they foul him.
“So he has just got to adapt his game maybe slightly, don’t hold onto the ball as much and don’t create as much tension around him, draw in those fouls if he can release it quicker,” he told BBC Radio Leeds.
Rutter needs to shine for Leeds, and must find solutions
The attacker was the heartbeat of Leeds’ play in the final third last season and if Farke’s men are to do anything this time around, he must be the main man once again. Against Portsmouth, he did very little.
White is right in saying that while opponents have found a way to stop Rutter in fouling him, he needs to create ways of getting round that. Winning free-kicks is fine, but it stops flow and a quick transition.
Something which Leeds prided themselves on last season. The Whites thrive on a quick counter and exploring spaces and gaps in behind, so getting the best out of Rutter is absolutely pivotal for Leeds.
