The evaluation of the players in the second half gives the victory to the whites

Second-half goals from Patrick Bamford, Stuart Dallas and Raphinha gave Leeds a comfortable 3-0 win over Southampton at Elland Road on Tuesday night.

The initial exchanges were fairly even and both teams rejected good opportunities to open the scoring. Just after the half hour, Southampton thought they had a penalty when Nathan Tella fell in the area, only for Andre Marriner to overturn his decision after a VAR review.

Minutes later, Oriol Romeu recovered 20 meters before completing a millimeter-perfect sliding tackle to deny Raphinha a certain goal.

Right after the break, Bamford squeezed through the Saints defense and made them pay, rolling the ball into the bottom corner.

Southampton struggled to muster a response and after several misses, the hosts doubled their lead when Dallas kicked his shot and edged out Alex McCarthy. Minutes later, an outstanding free-kick by Raphinha put the game out of all doubt.

Here are his player ratings for Leeds and Elland Road Saints …

Illan Meslier (GK) – 6/10 – I made some smart stops. Often his kicks were quite poor.

Diego Llorente (CB) – 7./10 – Rightly saved the embarrassment of conceding a VAR penalty. He looked graceful with the ball, hitting it with confidence.

Liam Cooper (CB) – 8/10 – Dominant defensive display. He posted a game of five punts and also contributed some key tackles and blocks.

Pascal Struijk (CB) – 7/10 – He held possession better than anyone in a white jersey. Furthermore, he was not mistaken defensively.

Raphinha (RM) – 9/10 – At the center of it all, his team did well in the future. Both on and off the ball, it was absolutely sensational. What a free kick too.

Luke Ayling (CM) – 7/10 – Had a pretty good time, hitting some great long balls in the channels. Also make sure you get stuck defensively.

Mateusz Klich (CM) – 7/10 – Put on a typically hard-working display before being forced to retire with an injury just before the hour mark.

Stuart Dallas (CM) – 8/10 – His goal may have been a foot point, but they all count. The hit was exactly what his selfless display deserved.

Jack Harrison (LM) – 6/10 – Had a quiet first half before being replaced by Helder Costa at halftime, possibly due to injury.

Tyler Roberts (ST) – July 10 – Let a couple of good chances go begging. Putting the spike aside, he worked hard and helped Bamford with an incisive pass.

Patrick Bamford (ST) – 8/10 – Bode his time until he got a start in the second half. When it did, it ended clinically. He also made a key punt in the second half.

Helder Costa – 6/10 – Quite calm 45 minutes. He didn’t do much good on his first team chances. Got the assist for the Dallas goal, mind.

Ezgjan Alioski – 6/10 – He defended solidly and offered an attacking threat from the left side.

Pablo Hernandez – 6/10 – He used his experience to help Leeds see things.

Alex McCarthy (POR) – 5/10 – He kept up with him with some brilliant saves in the second half. However, he should have done better with the free kick.

Jan Bednarek (RB) – 5/10 – He seemed shaky in an unknown role with Raphinha having fun down the left in the second half.

Jannik Vestergaard (CB) – 5/10 – Let a couple good chances go begging. Perhaps he could also have done better for Leeds’ first goal.

Mohammed Salisu (CB) – 5/10 – A bit of a rash at times. A challenge in the first half on Raphinha could have been a penalty if the Brazilian had fallen.

Ryan Bertrand (LB) – 6/10 – He only pushed forward on rare occasions. He did little wrong defensively.

Stuart Armstrong (RM) – 5/10 – Laborious but largely ineffective. He looked leggy as the game progressed.

Oriol Romeu (CM) – 7/10 – He deserves a knighthood for his save tackle to Raphinha in the first half. He continued to crash into the ground before being sent off with an injury in the second half. The saints seemed lost without him.

James Ward-Prowse (CM) – 6/10 – His delivery, both dead balls and centers, was excellent as always. He struggled to contain Leeds in transition after Romeu left.

Nathan Tella (LM) – 5/10 – He showed a lot of courage in his first Premier League start, but faded as the game progressed. Nobody likes a diver too, so they lose a mark.

Nathan Redmond (ST) – 5/10 – He pressed well, but had trouble hitting when he had the ball. Withdrawn after an hour.

Che Adams (ST) – 5/10 – He held the ball well at times. However, he needed to do some more positive runs behind.

Danny Ings – 6/10 – It added some pizzazz to the Saints’ attack after attacking.

Takumi Minamino – 5/10 – He was a temporary cameo.

Moussa Djenepo – 5/10 – It took one for the team to stop a Leeds counterattack. One of his only notable contributions.