Errors do not come much costlier than Rodrigo’s cross-field pass against Arsenal and Leeds United boss Jesse Marsch has moved quickly to stem the bleeding of the forward’s confidence. The club’s record signing remains a key member of the squad and as this season’s top scorer it’s clear they need him to keep his head in the game.
The Whites are back in action in two days and Marsch needs his squad to retain the confidence they must undoubtedly take from a narrow, undeserved 1-0 loss to the league leaders. Patrick Bamford’s second-half impact and Rodrigo’s costly mistake should mean a switch up top in the starting line-up, but Marsch needs the Spain international.
Marsch has moved to remind the forward of his strong start to the season, which still stands at a goal every other game in the Premier League, and his importance when it comes to scoring.
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“We knew the workload for that position in the match was going to be heavy and so the idea was we were going to trade Rodrigo and Patrick no matter what,” said Marsch. “We just decided to do it at half-time.
“Obviously, Rodrigo makes the choice to play this big switch that is not normally what we'd like to do and it leads to a moment that costs him and the team, but, in general, Rodri’s had a good run of form with us and we need him.
“We need him to get hot, we need Patrick to get hot. We need guys to score goals. So, obviously, I'm disappointed for Rodri but in the end, he's [still] an important guy.”
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