Struijk checks Holgate’s head’s screwed on
Just after the half-hour mark, Jordan Pickford sent a goal kick long down the pitch, but Graham Scott blew his whistle while it was airborne.
There had been some confusion before that around the match ball the players were using and the man in the middle evidently wasn’t happy.
Pascal Struijk throttled the ball back towards Pickford’s goal in the air and Mason Holgate was not paying attention to what was going on around him.
He had to jump out of the way at the last second as the ball came whistling by his head, much to the crowd’s amusement.
El Ghazi and Bielsa get reacquainted
It’s not the first time we have seen Anwar El Ghazi and Marcelo Bielsa acknowledge one another.
Virtually every time Leeds United have played Aston Villa under the Argentine, the forward has shared an embrace or shaken Bielsa’s hand.
This time, El Ghazi was on his way to warm up down the touchline during the match when they grabbed one another’s arms before sharing a warm word or two.
Coleman shows his class
Seamus Coleman has had his fair share of big injuries during his career, most notably when he fractured his leg in 2017 and spent 10 months on the sidelines.
In the dying stages of Saturday’s match, Leo Hjelde hurt himself after trying to pressure Jonjoe Kenny in the home half.
The Norwegian went down in a lot of pain, waving to the bench for assistance. The 18-year-old was lying in a heap on the turf for a minute or so while play carried on without him.
When the ball eventually went dead and the referee spotted him, the Leeds medical team entered the field and while he was being treated Coleman was the only player to check on him.
The Irishman gave the youngster a tap on the ribs with a few words as he lay down.
Struijk has a new friend
Struijk may have been on the losing team on Saturday, but he enjoyed a long battle with Dominic Calvert-Lewin throughout the afternoon.
The England international did not find his way onto the scoresheet despite Everton’s dominance in the match.
There seemed to be some evidence of mutual respect between the two after the final whistle.
Rather than a quick handshake, the pair were deep in conversation for a few minutes inside the centre circle.
Harrison swaps shirts
Donny van de Beek was one of the star performers of Saturday for the hosts in what was his first 90-minute run-out of the season in the Premier League.
His memento for the day? Jack Harrison’s shirt, which he swapped in the centre circle with the Leeds winger after full-time.
