Leeds have been branded as a ‘Championship side’ after they were hit for six by Liverpool.
The Whites are sliding towards relegation, and talkSPORT’s Danny Murphy does not believe defender Pascal Struijk should play for them again.
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AFP
Following the 6-1 defeat Leeds have won just twice in their last seven Premier League matches.
When asked by Sam Matterface on talkSPORT how difficult it will be to be a Leeds player at the moment, Murphy replied: “Very, very difficult.
“Damage limitation, you’ve just got to start thinking ahead moving forward.
“The manager and his coaching staff have got to do their job now, really try and pick these players up, find a system that the players believe and enjoy.
“The last two weeks have destroyed some confidence, they really have. They look tonight without their better players like [Maximilian] Wober, like [Liam] Cooper, Tyler Adams, they look like a Championship side.”
Murphy suggested earlier in the game that Illan Meslier should possibly be dropped from the starting XI, but is in no doubt that Struijk should not feature for the side again.
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On Meslier, Murphy added: “I wasn’t saying definitively he should be dropped, I don’t know how well the other goalkeeper is doing in training and stuff.
“It might be worth a change just to take him out of the firing line, he’s struggling, he was at fault for a couple of the goals. But, he’s certainly not the worst performer…
“[Marc] Roca hasn’t got the legs to play at this level, tries his best but he hasn’t got the legs. If he does play, he’s got to play in a three, not a two. I mean you’ve got to know your players haven’t you, surely?
“Struijk, he struggled like hell at left-back, he went back to his familiar position at centre-half and in the last couple of weeks he’s been destroyed. He can’t play, he can’t play again.”
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Cody Gakpo opened the scoring for Liverpool with ten minutes remaining in the first half, before Mohamed Salah’s first of the night.
Luis Sinisterra pulled one back for Leeds shortly after the break, but the visiting Reds went on to claim a comfortable win.
Diogo Jota ended his 32-game goal drought just five minutes later before Salah added his second.
The former also secured a double on the road, with Darwin Nunez coming off the bench to make it 6-1 in the 90th minute.
