The Leeds skipper did not take kindly to the distraction
Leeds United captain Liam Cooper appeared to aim an expletive outburst at a cameraman just moments before kick-off in Wednesday night’s Premier League tie against Chelsea.
Prior to kick-off at Elland Road, television cameras were on the pitch and were focusing on captain Cooper, with the defender returning to the side after missing two games with a knee injury.
However, the 30-year-old was not best pleased with the distracting camera as he prepared to face-off against Thomas Tuchel’s men.
The centre-back appeared to say “for f***’s sake” in the direction of the cameraman, prompting them to back off so the match could begin.
Underway at Elland Road! 🏟 pic.twitter.com/xUiMNuoe8c
— Football Daily (@footballdaily) May 11, 2022
Nightmare result for Leeds.
Despite the return of Cooper at the heart of defence, the home side endured a shocking start to the match as Mason Mount combined with England teammate Reece James to open the scoring for the Blues in the fourth minute.
Things went from bad to worse for Leeds with Dan James being shown a straight red card for a reckless lunge on Mateo Kovacic in midfield.
Why tackle like that? Why do it? Unbelievably stupid from Dan James pic.twitter.com/tg0AFOM58i
— FootballJOE (@FootballJOE) May 11, 2022
The former Manchester United man was criticised by Graeme Souness at half-time of the match, with the Liverpool legend insisting that he deserved to be sent off.
Speaking on Sky Sports, he said: “It’s reckless. Yes he gets the ball, but then his studs catch the rest of Kovacic.
“He gets the ball, but he gets more of the players, it’s a dangerous tackle and it’s a red card.”
🗣️ "He got a bit of the ball but a hell of a lot of Kovačić!"
Graeme Souness had no doubts that Dan James' "reckless" tackle was a straight red card 🟥 pic.twitter.com/LTjftQPHHj
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) May 11, 2022
Chelsea doubled their lead in the 55th minute courtesy of Christian Pulisic’s goal, before Romelu Lukaku grabbed his eighth Premier League goal of the season seven minutes from full-time.
Marsch’s side face off against Brighton and Brentford in their remaining two games of the season. Everton are still to play Brentford, Crystal Palace and Arsenal, while Burnley will take on Tottenham, Aston Villa and Newcastle.
