The writing was on the wall for Gary Cahill when he was made to look painfully slow by Patrick Bamford in the first half of Leeds United‘s 2-0 win over Crystal Palace on Monday night.
Bamford has improved many facets of his game since making the step back up to the Premier League with Leeds, but Kylian Mbappe he ain’t. After seeing the striker nip in to pounce on a wayward backpass in the first half, Elland Road’s new turf was made to look like cement by Cahill desperately chasing back with the pained expression of a marathon runner hitting ‘the wall’.
Thankfully for Cahill, Bamford shanked the ball into the South Stand. But the former England international knew he was in for a long night.
At another point in the first half, Palace’s defence frantically tried to scramble back into some form of shape, only for Cahill to run straight into his centre-back partner Scott Dann. Leeds were too busy deciding the best course of action for another attack to notice Dann had been knocked to the floor in his own penalty box.
This isn’t intended as a slight on Cahill as a footballer. The defender has won two Premier League titles, the Champions League and played 61 times for his country. Playing regular top-flight football at the age of 35 is a testament to a fine career. But, bless him, the last thing you need when you’re raging against the dying of the light is a duel with the deadliest gunslinger in town.
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